BORN WINTERTON, LINCS, 21/05/1900. SON OF ARTHUR WADDINGHAM (1870-1932) & ALICE ANNIE THOMPSON (1871-1943), OF 1 GREEK STREET, HAWTHORNE AVENUE, HULL (CWGC ADDRESS). SON OF A BRICKMAKER. ONE OF EIGHT CHILDREN. HE LEFT FOUR BROTHERS.
HE ENLISTED IN THE ROYAL NAVY, ON 23/09/1915. A BOY SAILOR ON THE HMS “QUEEN MARY”. HE WAS LOST AT SEA DURING THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND, AGED 16. HIS NAME IS LISTED ON ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH WW1 MEMORIAL WITH HIS BROTHER, PRVATE, HARRY WADDINGHAM, 7TH EAST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT, WHO DIED OF HEAD WOUNDS, ON 06/05/1917, AGED 26.
HMS Queen Mary was a Queen Mary class Battle Cruiser, lost at the battle of Jutland. At 16.25 Queen Mary exploded and went down in only 90 seconds after probably receiving a hit from the German Battle Cruiser Von Der Tann. 1,266 crewmen were lost; eighteen survivors were picked up by the destroyers HMS Laurel, HMS Petard, and HMS Tipperary, and two by the Germans. Two destroyers on both sides were also sunk during this period.
The Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht) was the largest naval battle of World War I, fought between 31st May and 1st June 1916, in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. The Germans’ plan was to use five modern battlecruisers to lure the British through a submarine picket line and into the path of the main German fleet.
The plan didn’t succeed, but the battle is considered to be won by the Germans, giving the Royal Navy a heavy blow.
