HMS ''Gibraltar'', was an cruiser launched in 1892 for service in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. She was built and engineered by Messrs Napier of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Of 7,700 loaded displacement, she was coal-fired with four double-ended cylindrical boilers driving two shafts. She could make with forced draught and with natural draught. She was a very good sea boat and an exceptional steamer.

Service history

During her early career ''Gibraltar'' served mainly on foreign stations. In late 1899 she had a complete refit at

Portsmouth dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

. In March 1901 she was commissioned by Captain

Arthur Limpus Admiral Sir Arthur Henry Limpus, (7 June 1863 – 3 November 1931) was a Royal Navy officer who became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard. Naval career Promoted to commander on 1 January 1898, Limpus was posted to the protected cruiser H ...

, with a complement of 544 officers and men, to take the place as flagship of Rear-Admiral Arthur Moore, who had been appointed Commander-in-Chief on the Cape Station. She arrived in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

in early September 1901. In July 1902 she was head of a group of seven

ships visiting

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

for a show of force following the death of the sultan and accession of his son, Ali bin Hamud. The following month she visited

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, and Beira, Mozambique, before she was back in South Africa in September. Three months later she visited Saint Helena and Ascension Island in December 1902. Despite her obsolescence, she saw service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, first with the 10th Cruiser Squadron on

Northern Patrol The Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B and the Northern Patrol Force, was an operation of the British Royal Navy during the First World War and Second World War. The Patrol was part of the British "distant" blockade of Germany. Its ma ...

and from 1915 as a depot ship for this group, based in the Shetland Islands. Two of her QF 6-in Mk I guns were dismounted from the cruiser and moved to Swarbacks Head on Vementry, a headland that overlooks the entrance to Swarbacks Minn between the islands of Vementry and

Muckle Roe Muckle Roe is an island in Shetland, Scotland, in St. Magnus Bay, to the west of Mainland. It has a population of around 130 people, who mainly croft and live in the south east of the island.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 440 'Muckle' is Scots for 'bi ...

for shore based defence. The two guns still exist on this site and can be visited. Future

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Fo ...

John H. D. Cunningham Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Henry Dacres Cunningham (13 April 1885 – 13 December 1962) was a Royal Navy officer. A qualified senior navigator, he became Director of Plans at the Admiralty in 1930. He saw action as Commander-in-Chief of the ...

served aboard her as a midshipman. Captain

Ronald Arthur Hopwood Rear Admiral Ronald Arthur Hopwood (7 December 1868 – 28 December 1949) was a British naval officer and poet. He began his career in 1882 with the Royal Navy as a gunnery officer, completed it in 1919 as a Rear admiral (Royal Navy), rear ad ...

, R.N. was in command 1913–1914, leaving at the start of the First World War. ''Gibraltar'' was sold in August 1923 to

John Cashmore Ltd John Cashmore Ltd (also known as J Cashmore, or simply as Cashmore's or other derivations) was a company operating largely in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. It became best known for ship breaking and scrapping redundant British railway locomot ...

for breaking up at Newport.

References

External links

Cricket on board HMS Gibraltar circa 190

Publications

* * Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905'', (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979), {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibraltar (1892) Edgar-class cruisers Ships built on the River Clyde Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1892 ships