Speck, Henry William Pendrell Jeffries

BORN HULL 1877. SON OF SELLERS WILLIAM SPECK & MARTHA PENDRELL JEFFRIES SPECK, OF 170 CHILTERN STREET, HULL. ONE OF EIGHT CHILDREN. HE MARRIED IN HULL IN 1900. KILLED BY MINE, ON THE STEAM TUG ‘BUNTY’, 21/10/1917, AGED 49. HIS WIDOW MARY ELIZABETH (LEWIS) SPECK LIVED AT THIS ADDRESS, WITH THEIR SIX CHILDREN. COMMEMORATED ON THE TOWER HILL NAVY MEMORIAL, LONDON. NOTE CWGC RECORDS STAT THAT HE WAS BORN IN 1868.
The steam tug BUNTY was on passage from Hull to Rosyth when she struck a mine, laid by the German submerine UC-49, at midnight, and was blown to pieces, all her 5 crew being killed, including the pilot.
1. BATTY, ROBERT EDWARD , Master, SS Bunty, Mercantile Marine, †21/10/1917, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
2. CLARK, HERBERT (29), Fireman, SS Bunty, Son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Clark; husband of Emma Clark, of 17, Goodwin Terrace, Day St., Hull. Born at Hull, Tower Hill Memorial
3. EALES, WILLIAM CHARLES , Pilot, SS Bunty, Mercantile Marine, †21/10/1917, Husband of Frances Ellis Eales, of 511, Anlaby Rd., Kingston-upon-Hull,
4. LEE, WILLIAM (26), Mate, SS Bunty, Mercantile Marine, †21/10/1917, Husband of Maud Lee, of 4, Chester Avenue, Mauvers St., Hull. Born at Crowle, Tower Hill Memorial
5. SPECK, HENRY WILLIAM (39), Engineer, SS Bunty, Mercantile Marine, †21/10/1917, Son of William Henry and Martha Speck; husband of Mary Elizabeth Speck (nee Lewis), of 33, Harrow St., Hull. Born at Hull, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial.
Well over 400 tugs were requisitioned during the First World War by various branches of the British armed services, some for just a short while, others for the duration of the war. This led to an acute shortage of suitable tugs in some areas, especially the Thames, where tugs from other rivers were chartered in to help out. 319 British requisitioned tugs served with the Royal navy, 28 with the Army and the Navy, and 30 with the Army. A further 49 tugs were hired from overseas, including the USA.