Dean, Alexander

BORN HULL 19/03/1898. YOUNGEST SON OF SAMUEL THORNALLY DEAN AND FRANCES OVERTON DEAN, OF 27 LEONARD STREET, HULL (1911 CENSUS) AND 2, BRUNSWICK AVENUE, HULL (CWGC ADDRESS).
HMS Raglan was a First World War Royal Navy Abercrombie-class monitor. On November 3, 1914, Charles M. Schwab of Bethlehem Steel offered Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, the use of four 14in/45cal BL MK II twin gun turrets, originally destined for the Greek ship Salamis. These turrets could not be delivered to the German builders, due to the British Naval blockade.
The Royal Navy immediately designed a class of monitors, designed for shore bombardment, to use the turrets. HMS Raglan was laid down at the Harland and Wolff Ltd shipyard at Govan on December 1, 1914. The ship was named Robert E Lee in honour of the US General Robert E Lee, however as the United States was still neutral, the ship was hurriedly renamed HMS M3 on May 31, 1915. She was then named HMS Lord Raglan on June 20, 1915 and again renamed HMS Raglan on June 23, 1915. She was powered by 2 shafts and a triple expansion steam reciprocating engine giving 11 knots.
HMS Raglan sailed for the Dardanelles in June 1915. She remained in the Eastern Mediterranean, based at Imbros. On January 20, 1918, she and other members of the Detached Squadron of the Aegean Squadron were attacked by the Turkish battle cruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim (formerly SMS Goeben, the cruiser Midilli (formerly the SMS Breslau) and four destroyers. HMS Raglan was sunk with the loss of 127 lives.