BORN HULL OCT 1877. SON OF JOHN & FAITH BROMLEY ABOVE 1891 ADDRESS. WIFE LOUISE LIVED AT 71 UNITY STREET, SHEERNESS.
BROMLEY, JOHN RICHARD (38), Ship’s Corporal 1st Class (no. 177710), HMS Natal, Royal Navy, †30/12/1915, Son of John and Faith Bromley, of Hull; husband of Louise Bromley, of 71, Unity St., Sheerness. Awarded China Medal, 1900. Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial.
HMS Natal, British, Warrior class Armoured Cruiser, blew up and sank at her moorings in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland. Over 400 lives lost. The cause was speculated about at the time and there were conspiracy theories; sabotage was feared by some but the official enquiry put it down to a cordite explosion. This material becomes unstable when overheated. Other ships had suffered a similar fate, and this is the most likely explanation. Geens Willy 05/12/2005 vier schepen: cochrane / achilles / natal / warrior; omschrijving:pantserkruis; gewicht: 15230 t; afmetingen: lengte 154.4 m breedte 22.4 m bewapening:6 x 234 m; 4 x 190 mm;24 x 47 m;4 x 7.7 mm; torpedolanceerbuizen:3 x 450 mm voortstuwing: twee schroefassen apk:23500 brandstofvoorraad:kolen max.2050;olie 600 t snelheid:22.33 knop; bemanning:704; einde: cochrane 14 nov 1918 total loss; achilles 9 mei 1921 gesloopt; natal na explosie gezonk; warrior 1 juni 1916 vergaan Chipchase Nick 01/11/2019 The steel from HMS Natal sunk 1915 was salvaged over the years. Firstly the Navy blew up the Hull as it was regarded a hazard to shipping. The steel/salvage was brought to the woody pier next to the West Harbour in barges from the main salvage vessel. There were large guns and small arms amongst the haul. Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?432
