A Great War Battle of Jutland and interwar New Zealand Division, Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy Long Service and Good Conduct group awarded to Petty Officer J. Silsby, Royal Navy who was present aboard H.M.S. Indomitable at the Battle of Jutland being advanced from Able Seaman to Leading Seaman on 1st June 1916, the day of the conclusion of the battle which saw Indomitable hit both Derfflinger and Seydlitz. He would later see interwar service attached to both the New Zealand Division, Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy spending three years with each.
Group of 4: 1914-1915 Star; (J.30254 J. SILSBY. A.B. R.N.) British War Medal and Victory Medal; (J.30254 J. SILSBY. L.S. R.N.) Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, GVR Adm. Bust; (J.30254 J. SILSBY. P.O. H.M.S. PEMBROKE.) Loose-mounted, Good Very Fine
Condition: loose-mounted, Good Very Fine
James Silsby was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on 2nd March 1890 and joined the Royal Navy on 28th April 1908 and initially serving as an Ordinary Seaman, being promoted to Able Seaman whilst serving aboard H.M.S. Formidable on 7th April 1910. He would then transfer to the Royal Fleet Reserve at Chatham on 27th April 1913 before rejoining the Royal Navy for a further 12 years service on 23rd June 1913.
His initial wartime service would be aboard H.M.S. Indomitable, leaving this vessel on 24th October 1914, he would serve ashore until 25th June 1915, when he would transfer to H.M.S. Indomitable, he would serve through the remainder of the war aboard Indomitable.
At the end of May 1916, the 3rd BCS of which H.M.S. Indomitable was a part was temporarily assigned to the Grand Fleet for gunnery practice. On 30 May, the entire Grand Fleet, along with Admiral Beatty's battlecruisers, was ordered to sea to prepare for an excursion by the German High Seas Fleet. In order to support Beatty, Admiral Hood took his three battlecruisers ahead of the Grand Fleet. At about 14:30 Invincible intercepted a radio message from the British light cruiser Galatea, attached to Beatty's Battlecruiser Force, reporting the sighting of two enemy cruisers. This was amplified by other reports of seven enemy ships steering north. Hood interpreted this as an attempt to escape through the Skagerrak and ordered an increase in speed to 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) at 15:11 and steered East-Southeast to cut off the fleeing ships. Twenty minutes later Invincible intercepted a message from Beatty reporting five enemy battlecruisers in sight and later signals reporting that he was engaging the enemy on a south-easterly course. At 16:06 Hood ordered full speed and a course of south-southeast in an attempt to converge on Beatty. At 16:56, with no British ships in sight, Hood requested Beatty's course, position and speed, but never received a reply.
Hood continued on course until 17:40 when gunfire was spotted in the direction to which his light cruiser Chester had been dispatched to investigate other gunfire flashes. Chester encountered four light cruisers of Hipper's 2nd Scouting Group and was badly damaged before Hood turned to investigate and was able to drive the German cruisers away from Chester. At 17:53 Invincible opened fire on Wiesbaden and the other two Invincibles followed two minutes later. The German ships turned for the south after fruitlessly firing torpedoes at 18:00 and attempted to find shelter in the mist. As they turned Invincible hit Wiesbaden in the engine room and knocked out her engines while Inflexible hit Pillau once. The 2nd Scouting Group was escorted by the light cruiser Regensburg and 31 destroyers of the 2nd and 9th Flotillas and the 12th Half-Flotilla which attacked the 3rd BCS in succession. They were driven off by Hood's remaining light cruiser Canterbury and the five destroyers of his escort. In a confused action the Germans only launched 12 torpedoes and disabled the destroyer Shark with gunfire. Having turned due west to close on Beatty's ships, the Invincibles were broadside to the oncoming torpedoes, but Invincible turned north, while Inflexible and Indomitable turned south to present their narrowest profile to the torpedoes. All the torpedoes missed, although one passed underneath Inflexible without detonating. As Invincible turned north, her helm jammed and she had to come to a stop to fix the problem, but this was quickly done and the squadron reformed heading west.
At 18:21, with both Beatty and the Grand Fleet converging on him, Hood turned south to lead Beatty's battlecruisers. Hipper's battlecruisers were 9,000 yards (8,200 m) away and the Invincibles almost immediately opened fire on Hipper's flagship Lützow and Derfflinger. Indomitable hit Derfflinger three times and Seydlitz once, while the Lützow quickly took 10 hits from Lion, Inflexible and Invincible, including two hits below the waterline forward by Invincible that would ultimately doom Hipper's flagship. But at 18:30, Invincible abruptly appeared as a clear target before Lützow and Derfflinger. The two German ships then fired three salvoes each at Invincible, and sank her in 90 seconds. A 305 mm (12-inch) shell from the third salvo struck the roof of Invincible's midships 'Q' turret, flash detonated the magazines below, and the ship blew up and broke in two, killing all but 6 of her crew of 1,032 officers and men, including Rear-Admiral Hood.
Inflexible and Indomitable remained in company with Beatty for the rest of the battle. They encountered Hipper's battlecruisers only 10,000 yards (9,100 m) away as the sun was setting about 20:19 and opened fire. Seydlitz was hit five times before the German battlecruisers were rescued by the appearance of the pre-dreadnought battleships of Rear Admiral Mauve and the British shifted fire to the new threat. Three of the pre-dreadnoughts were hit before they too were able to turn into the gloom.
Silsby would be advanced to Leading Seaman on 1st June 1916, possibly as a result of actions during the battle.
The loss of three battlecruisers at Jutland (the others were Queen Mary and Indefatigable) led to the force being reorganised into two squadrons, with Inflexible and Indomitable in the 2nd BCS. However, after Jutland there was little significant naval activity for the Invincibles, other than routine patrolling, thanks to the Kaiser's order that his ships should not be allowed to go to sea unless assured of victory. She was refitted in August 1916, where she received additional armour over her magazine and turret roofs. Indomitable was fitted with two flying off ramps fitted above her midships turrets in early 1918.
The end of the war saw the end for many of the older vessels, not least the two remaining Invincibles. Both were sent to the Reserve Fleet in 1919, with Silsby being transferred ashore on 6th March 1919, being advanced to Petty Officer on 1st June 1919, before serving aboard H.M.S. Chatham, which had been lent to the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, between 1st October 1920 and 30th September 1923, and taking part in the search for the missing steamer S.S. Canastota. being awarded his Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal whilst serving with Pembroke on 16th October 1923.
After a period ashore, Silsby was attached to the London Depot Royal Australian Navy on 9th March 1924, seeing service aboard the Cerberus from 20th May 1924 to 16th February 1926, and Brisbane from 17th February 1926 until 1st August 1926 while it was attached to the Flinders Naval Depot, Melbourne. He would then return to Cerberus from 2nd August 1926 until 31st May 1927.
He would be still be serving ashore with Pembroke on 1st January 1929.
