Ordinary Seaman Robert Kent
HMS Monmouth, Royal Navy
Killed in Action
Date of Birth: 1896
Place of Birth: Teignmouth, Devon
Date of Death: 1st November 1914 aged 18
Buried: Remembered on Plymouth Naval Memorial, Seafront Memorial and St. James' Church Memorial Window, Teignmouth.
Awarded the 1914 Star (RN), British War Medal, Victory Medal
Ordinary Seaman Robert (Bob) Kent, age18.
Bob was born at Teignmouth on 10 September 1896. The 1901 census showed him living at 20 Saxe St, West Teignmouth with his parents Charles Edward, a bricklayer, and Anna Kent; plus 3 sisters and 1 brother. Following his mother’s death in 1905 he was living at 11 Saxe Street as a boarder with his father and 2 of his siblings; William Kent, the grandfather of Bob was also living at the house.
In 1901 he was working as a butcher’s errand boy. In 1911 the census showed him living at 11 Saxe Street as a boarder with his father, now a widower, and 2 of his siblings, Ellen Radford, the householder, was shown as his aunt on his military records; William Kent his grandfather was also shown living at the house. Bob was working as a butcher’s errand boy.
Entering the navy as a boy entrant on 6 March 1913 aged 17, service number Dev/J23782, he joined the training ship HMS Impregnable based at Devonport. He then moved to HMS Grafton based out of Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland in October 1913 until March 1914. On 1 August 1914 he was posted to HMS Monmouth, becoming Ordinary Seaman on 10 September 1914, his 18th birthday. On 1 November 1914 he was lost at sea when HMS Monmouth sank at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile, with the loss of all hands. Remembered on Plymouth Naval Memorial, Seafront Memorial and St. James' Church Memorial Window, Teignmouth.
His father Charles received the new of his son’s death on the day of his own father’s funeral, this was William Kent.
HMS Monmouth in the First World War
HMS Monmouth
HMS Monmouth was built for the Royal Navy in the early 1900s. By the start of the First World War, the Monmouth was 12 years old and already considered outdated as warship design had developed so quickly.
The Monmouth class cruisers had also been designed for commerce protection, not as ships of war, so they were outmatched by the German vessels that they had to fight.
A few months after the begining of the First World War the Monmouth was ordered to the South Atlantic to join the squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock in their search for the German East Asia Squadron that was led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee.
The British Squadron found and engaged the German Squadron on the 1st November 1914 off the coast of Chile, the battle was called the Battle of Coronel.
Vice-Admiral von Spee's squadron, in line ahead off the Chilean coast. © IWM (Q 50992)
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Craddock's squadron were outnumbered and the Monmouth and all 678 of her crew were amongst those lost.
Ordinary Seaman Robert Kent aged 18, Stoker 1st Class Alfred Parker, age 30 and Stoker 1st Class John William James Russell age 23, (all from Teignmouth) were killed in action when the HMS Monmouth sank.
1450 of Craddock's men died in the Battle of Coronel. Damage to German ships was insignificant.
