HMS ''Chelmer'' was a Thornycroft Type River Class destroyer ordered by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

under the 1903–1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the

River Chelmer The River Chelmer is a river that flows entirely through the county of Essex, England, running from the northwest of the county through Chelmsford to the River Blackwater near Maldon. Course The source of the river is in the parish of Debden ...

in eastern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, north-east of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

Construction

She was laid down on 11 December 1903 at the

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its fir ...

shipyard at

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and ...

and launched on 8 December 1904. She was completed in June 1905. Her original armament was to be the same as the Turleback torpedo boat destroyers that preceded her. In 1906 the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament by landing the five 6-pounder naval guns and shipping three 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the foc's'le break, and the third gun would be mounted on the quarterdeck.

Pre-War

After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at Harwich. From 1908 to 1910 she was under the command of Lieutenant Loftus W. Jones. On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises the cruiser rammed and sank the destroyer then damaged . In 1909/1910 she was assigned to China Station. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters starting with the 'A'. The ships of the River Class were assigned to the E Class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as an E Class destroyer and had the letter 'E' painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.

First World War

In July 1914 she was on China Station based at Hong Kong tendered to HMS ''Triumph''. At the outbreak of war she was in dockyard hands undergoing a refit. On 14 September 1914, she captured the German collier ''Tannenfels'' in the

Basilan Strait The Basilan Strait is a strait of water separating the islands of Mindanao and Basilan in the Philippines. It was above sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's c ...

, south of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...

. The United States protested about ''Chelmer''s action, claiming that ''Tannenfels'' was within American territorial waters, but Britain rejected that claim. With the fall of Tsingtao and the sinking of the SMS ''Emden'', ''Chelmer'', along with the other River-class destroyers attached to the China Station, was redeployed to the

5th Destroyer Flotilla The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingd ...

in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1914, replacing more modern destroyers that had been recalled to British waters. On 18 March 1915 she in conjunction with HMS ''Jed'' and HMS ''Colne'' assisted with the rescue of the crew of the battleship HMS ''Ocean'' after she struck a mine in the Dardanelles. On 25 April 1915 under the command of Lieutenant-Commander H. T. England, RN, she supported the landings at ANZAC Cove. While ferrying troops ashore she suffered one of her crew killed in action. On 25 May 1915 she was patrolling near HMS ''Triumph'' when she was torpedoed. She attacked the submarine without success then returned to aid in the rescue efforts. She remained in the Mediterranean for the duration of the war.

Disposition

In 1919 she returned to Home waters, was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 30 June 1920 she was sold to

Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery. I ...

of Sheffield for breaking at Hayle, Cornwall. She was awarded the Battle Honour Dardanelles 1915 – 1916 for her service.

Pennant numbers

It is not known if she was assigned a pennant number as no record has been found.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chelmer (1904) River-class destroyers World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom 1904 ships Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company