Description
Victory Medal, Royal Navy – Killed in Action31st May 1916, on H.M.S. Indefatigable, Jutland.
Victory Medal, 188505 J. Millington. P.O.1 R.N.
John Millington was born in Bodmin, Cornwall on the 28th October 1879.
He enlisted on the 28th October 1897, serving on various ships, including, Impregnable, Ganges, Colossus, Blake, Cambridge, Highflier, Lion, Europa, Queen, Leviathan, Andromeda, Dian and finally Indefatigable.
He served on Indefatigable from 17th June 1913 to his death on the 31st May 1916.
Medal rolls confirm his entitlement to a trio and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.
Condition – GVF
On May 31, 1916, HMS Indefatigable, lead ship of her battlecruiser class, commanded by Captain Charles Sowerby, formed part of Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty’s 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland. Positioned at the rear of the British line, she engaged the German Scouting Force commanded by Vice-Admiral Franz von Hipper in the opening combat phase known as the “Run to the South.”
At 15:48, Indefatigable drew target assignment against SMS Von der Tann, the rearmost German battlecruiser. A direct duel commenced at a range of approximately 15,000 yards. Despite navigating heavy smoke and intense returns, Indefatigable exchanged rapid salvoes with her opponent. However, British battlecruisers suffered from thin deck armor and inadequate flash protection in their ammunition handling passages—vulnerabilities that proved fatal under concentrated long-range German plunge fire.
At approximately 16:02, Von der Tann scored two critical hits out of a three-shell salvo. One shell penetrated Indefatigable’s after turret (‘X’ turret), igniting cordite charges stored in the handling room below. The initial explosion disabled her steering gear and caused the vessel to fall out of formation, trailing smoke and listing to port.
As Indefatigable turned out of line, another 11-inch shell struck near her forward ‘A’ turret. The impact triggered a catastrophic magazine explosion, flash detonating the forward ordnance stores. A massive column of flame and dark smoke erupted into the sky as the ship blew apart, rolling over and sinking within minutes in the North Sea.
Out of a complement of 1,019 officers and men, only two crew members—survived the explosion and were subsequently rescued by the German torpedo boat S16. Indefatigable was the first British battlecruiser lost during the battle.
