Description
A Good First and Second World War Casualty group, Hunt for SMS Emden, and SMS Königsberg and finally Killed in Action on HMS Kelly (Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten) during the Battle of Norway May 1940. MSM awarded for services on Patrol Destroyers , Irish Flotilla 1918.
1914-15 Star, J.21506, H. L. I. Young, A.B., R.N.( note incorrect third initial; British War and Victory Medals (J. 21506 H. L. W. Young. A.B. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; War Medal 1939-45, Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, fixed suspension (J. 21506 H. L. W. Young. A.B. H.M.S. Medway.; Royal Naval Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R. (J. 21506 H. L. W. Young. A.B., “Zephyr” Patrol 1918);
Royal Naval M.S.M. London Gazette 11 April 1919.
Awarded for services during the period 1 July to 11 November 1918, patrol destroyers Irish Sea Flotilla 1918.
Henry Lewis Wade Young was born in Brixton, London on 29 April 1897, and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 16 November 1912. He had advanced to Ordinary Seaman in March 1915 and was rated Able Seaman from June 1915. He re-engaged on 29 April 1927 as A.B. (Pensioner) with new Official No. C./J.X.152921.
Was serving on HMS Weymouth when war broke out, and was on her until28th May 1916
In August 1914, Weymouth was detached to sail into the Indian Ocean to hunt for the German light cruiser SMS Emden, which was raiding Allied shipping in the area. In February 1915, she was operating off the East African coast as part of operations against another commerce raider, SMS Königsberg, eventually trapping her in the Rufiji River until she could be sunk. Weymouth was transferred to the Adriatic in December 1915. In 1916 she returned to home waters and was assigned to the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet.
He was killed in action when H.M.S. Kelly was torpedoed and badly damaged by the German motor torpedo boat S 31 on 9 May 1940, with the loss of 27 crew. He was buried at sea in the Skagerrak Strait and is commemorated by name on the Chatham Naval Memorial.
H.M.S. Kelly:
On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were brought from France, where they were living, back to Britain on board HMS Kelly.
On the afternoon of 14 December 1939, the tanker Atheltemplar struck a mine laid by German destroyers off the Tyne Estuary. Kelly and the Tribal-class destroyer HMS Mohawk were dispatched as escorts for the rescue tugs Great Emperor, Joffre and Langton. During the operation, Kelly also struck a mine and sustained damage to her hull. While Mohawk put a party aboard Atheltemplar, and Joffre and Langton took the tanker under tow, Kelly herself was taken in tow by Great Emperor and returned to the Tyne. Reaching the Tyne just before midnight, Kelly was assisted upriver by the tugs Robert Redhead and Washington. She was towed to Hawthorn Leslie’s yard for repairs, which took just a little over three months.
This was the second of Kelly’s misfortunes, having just returned to active service after a month in dry dock following storm damage. Repairs were completed on 28 February 1940, and Kelly returned to the fray. Astonishingly, she was involved in a collision with HMS Gurkha just two days later on 2 March, necessitating a further 8 weeks in dry dock, this time on the Thames. She was released on 27 April, in time to assist with the evacuation of allied forces from Namsos.
On the night 9 May/10 May 1940, during the Battle of Norway, Kelly was torpedoed amidships by the German E-boat S 31, under command of Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Opdenhoff (for which action Oblt.z.S. Opdenhoff was awarded the Knight’s Cross). Severely damaged, she was taken under tow by the tug Great Emperor and for four days she was attacked by E-boats and bombers as she struggled back to port at three knots. The Navy Controller wrote that she survived “not only by the good seamanship of the officers and men but also on account of the excellent workmanship which ensured the watertightness of the other compartments. A single defective rivet might have finished her.” She was repaired and returned to service.
Condition – VF, except the Great War awards polished.
