BORN HULL 21/01/1898. SON OF GEORGE AND EMMA GRAY, OF 3 ROXDENE VILLAS, RAGLAN STREET, HULL (CWGC ADDRESS). FOURTH OF EIGHT CHILDREN. JOINED THE NAVY, AGED 15. SERVED AT THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND. WAS A LEADING TELEGRAPHIST, ON THE DESTROYER, HMS “BRISK”. DIED ON 02/10/1917, AGED 19. COMMEMORATED ON THE PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL. HIS DEATH WAS REPORTED IN THE HULL DAILY MAIL, ON 12/10/1917. *
HIS BROTHER CORPORAL, H GRAY, ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY, HAD BEEN IN FRANCE FOR THREE YEARS. THREE OTHER BROTHERS, SERVED WITH THE MERCHANT NAVY.
On October 2nd, 1917, the British destroyer HMS Brisk hit a mine from the German submarine U-79 (Otto Rohrbeck), SW of Bull Point, County Antrim (Barrage 171b). From her complement of 141, 32 persons were killed. Her bow was blow off, but the main part of the ship was saved. A new bow was made and she continued service.
On October 2nd, 1917, the U-Boat U-79 located HH24 in the early morning, found HMS Drake in her sight and fired one of her compliment of four torpedoes, the resulting explosion killed 19 seamen though the cruiser remained afloat. After the attack and as normal procedure, the convoy dispersed – the remaining naval and auxiliary escorts including the HMS Brisk, a type H (Acorn) destroyer, were deployed to follow up on the dispersed ships, some through Rathlin Sound and others in the North Channel. The 2,372 ton S.S. Lugano, loaded with cotton and steel from Virginia came into the Sound and was hit on her starboard side by one torpedo fired from U79, the explosion ripped a large hole in the hull resulting in her sinking rapidly, though with no loss of life. Shortly afterwards HMS Brisk following up on her charges made a sweep up the Sound and was hit by one torpedo amidships causing a catastrophic explosion which broke her in two, the bow section sank in the Sound and the stern section was eventually towed into Londonderry – the explosion killed thirty-one seamen. Both the Brisk and Lugano lie within 3km of each other – although there is no evidence to say that U79 torpedoed HMS Brisk, the close proximity of the two attacks would suggest that she may have lay in wait and done so. If so it would have been a major achievement for an U-Boat Captain to claim a Cruiser, Destroyer and a 2,350ton Merchant ship within a few hours of each. The crippled Drake under the command of Captain S. H. Radcliffe was escorted into Church Bay by H.M.S. Martin and other auxiliary ships where she was anchored. There were suggestions that to save her an attempt was going to be made to beach her in Church Bay, unfortunately the degree of list became critical and she was abandoned to capsize in eighteen metres of water a few hundred metres from the shore. There were no casualties as a result of the capsizing and the Admiralty announced her loss on October 4th, though no reference was made to HMS Brisk Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?30945
