BORN KENSONGTON, LONDON 30/11/1893. ONLY SON OF CHARLES KENNINGHAM (1863-1925) & EDITH SHAW (1864-1919), OF 30 , CHANTERLANDS AVENUE, HULL, (CWGC ADDRESS). HE HAD FOUR SISTERS, ALICE MAUD, MILDRED, LUCILLE & ELIZA.
DESCRIBED AS 5 FOOT 11 INCHES TALL, 35 INCH CHEST, GREY EYES, DARK BROWN HAIR. HE JOINED THE ROYAL NAVY ON 13/08/1909. SERVED AS A SIGNALLER, ON HMS MONMOUTH. LOST AT SEA ON 01/11/1914, AGED 21. COMMEMORATED ON THE PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL.
MONMOUTH HMS British Navy, armoured cruiser; 1901; London & Glasgow Shipbuilding Co.; 9,800 tons; 448x66x24-5; 22,000 Lh.p.; 23-9 knots; triple-expansion engines; Belleville boilers; fourteen 6 in. guns, eight 12pdr., three 3 pdr., 2 T.T. The armoured cruiser MONMOUTH Hms, Capt. Brandt, a ship of about ten years´ service was commissioned at the outbreak of the First World War and sent to the North American Station to strengthen the squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock. MONMOUTH arrived on August 22nd, 1914 and from that time was engaged as one of the ships sweeping down the coast of South America in search of the German light cruisers Karlsruhe and Dresden. Eventually, as part of a squadron consisting of the flagship Good Hope (which see), the light cruiser Glasgow and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto, MONMOUTH met the German East Asiatic Squadron under Admiral Graf von Spee off Coronel, Chile. The two German armoured cruisers, Scharnhorst (flagship) and Gneisenau, were armed with eight 8-2 in. guns apiece and greatly outranged the British ships. Three light cruisers, the Dresden, Leipzig and Nurnberg, completed the German squadron, all the units of which were very speedy. The rival forces made contact at about 6 p.m. on November 1st, and, after an hour´s manoeuvring, the superior speed of the Germans placed them in a position to fire at the British ships on the horizon line, silhouetted against the setting sun. The first shot was fired at 7.04 p.m. and in a short time the two British armoured cruisers were on fire. At 7.53 p.m. the flagship Good Hope blew up and sank with the Admiral and all on board, leaving the fight to be maintained by MONMOUTH. The two light ships had been ordered to seek safety in flight, and Glasgow saw MONMOUTH for the last time at about 8.15 p.m. It was then dark and the big cruiser, with a heavy list, was steaming stern on to the seas, which were very rough. Glasgow signalled as she passed “The enemy is following us”, but received no reply. She again signalled, telling her to shape a course to the N.W. clear of the enemy. She then made her best efforts to escape. The darkness was now dispelled by the moon, and this enabled the German cruisers to establish the whereabouts of the British ship. At 9.25 p.m. those on board Glasgow counted 75 gun flashes, and then no more. MONMOUTH, with Capt. Brandt and all her company had foundered. The official complement of MONMOUTH was 678. Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?135896
Jan Lettens 24/09/2010 The Battle of Coronel HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth were sunk by the German fleet (Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee), superior in both shell range and speed. Armoured cruisers Gneisenau and Sharnhorst lead the main attacks in the Battle of Coronel, on 1 November 1914, off the Chilean coast. Monmouth was hit by Gneisenau and was on fire. Nurnberg found her burning and after refusing to surrender, Nurnberg finished her off with 75 shells. All hands on both cruisers HMS Good Hope (900) and HMS Monmouth (678) were lost. HMS Glasgow and HMS Otranto escaped. Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?135896
