An interesting Later Jutland casualty East and West Africa Medal 1897, 1 Clasp: Benin 1897 awarded to Ordinary Seaman G.F. Cooke, HMS Theseus, Royal Navy who was present during the Benin expedition which lasted from 6th February to 7th August 1897 being 1 of 541 men of his ship to be awarded the Benin 1897 clasp. He would still be serving at the outbreak of the Great War, and whilst aboard HMS Queen Mary was killed on 31st May 1916 at the Battle of Jutland. He is now remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
East and West Africa Medal 1887-1900, 1 Clasp: Benin 1897; (G.F. COOKE. ORD. H.M.S. THESEUS.)
Condition: edge-bruise to reverse rim at 7 o’clock, otherwise Very Fine
George Frederick Cooke was born in Sussex on 3rd September 1878, and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 24th May 1894, initially serving aboard St. Vincent. He would be advanced to Boy 1st Class on 23rd May 1895, then transferring ashore on 23rd October 1895 until 13th January 1896. He would join Theseus on 14th January 1896 and would remain aboard until 19th July 1897 apart from a short period between 11th and 25th May 1897 when he served aboard Cruiser.
In January 1897 Theseus was ordered from the Mediterranean to join Rear Admiral Sir Harry Rawson’s fleet that had been sent to West Africa for a punitive expedition against Benin. The force was assembled off the coast of Benin by 3rd February, with landings taking place on 9th February, and Benin City was captured on 18th February and the force re-embarked on the ships of the fleet on 27th February. The ship's crew suffered badly from malaria as a result of her service during the Benin expedition, and when Theseus was refitted at Chatham later that year she required a thorough disinfection.
The Benin Expedition officially lasted from 6th February to 7th August 1897, the operations centred round an expedition to Benin City against Chief Overiami who was involved in the slave trade and in practices of human sacrifice. Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hamilton, East Yorkshire Regiment, commanded a force of Niger Coast Constabulary and Rear Admiral Rawson, Royal Navy, and aboard St George, was in overall command. Commissioner Ralph Moor accompanied the expedition. This is one of the few instances where naval personnel who remained on board were entitled to the East and West Africa Medal 1887-1900, with relevant clasp, in this case Benin 1897, with Cooke gaining entitlement, and subsequently being appointed Able Seaman on 1st June 1897
He would return ashore on 20th July 1897, his next seaborne appointment being aboard HMS Research from 29th March 1898 until 31st October 1898,seemingly ashore for the winter, he then rejoined Research on 1st April 1899 serving until 31st October 1899. He would serve aboard HMS Scout from 5th December 1899 until 8th April 1903. He would then transfer to the Duke of Wellington being promoted Leading Seaman upon joining on 9th April 1903. Periods aboard Excellent and Minotaur sandwiched time ashore before he was promoted Petty Officer 2nd Class whilst with Boscawen on 26th September 1904. Joining Vulcan on 21st February 1905, he would be advanced to Petty Officer 1st Class on 9th November 1906, before subsequently returning ashore on 20th April 1907.
He would join HMS Eclipse on 16th July 1907 serving aboard her until 30th October 1911, and then joining Weymouth until 15th October 1913, he would be serving aboard Dolphin at the outbreak of the Great War, but joined HMS Queen Mary on 29th August 1914, still being aboard when she was sunk at Jutland on 31st May 1916, with Cooke being amongst those lost. He is now remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
On 31 May 1916, Queen Mary had put to sea with the rest of the Battlecruiser Fleet to intercept a sortie by the High Seas Fleet into the North Sea. The British were able to decode the German radio messages and left their bases before the Germans put to sea. Hipper's battlecruisers spotted the Battlecruiser Fleet to their west at 15:20, but Beatty's ships did not spot the Germans to their east until 15:30. Two minutes later, he ordered a course change to east south-east to position himself astride the German's line of retreat and called his ships' crews to action stations. Hipper ordered his ships to turn to starboard, away from the British, almost 180 degrees, to assume a south-easterly course, and reduced speed to 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) to allow three light cruisers of the 2nd Scouting Group to catch up. With this turn, Hipper was falling back on the High Seas Fleet, then about 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) behind him. Around this time, Beatty altered course to the east, as it was quickly apparent that he was still too far north to cut off Hipper.
This began what was to be called the "Run to the South" as Beatty changed course to steer east-southeast at 15:45, paralleling Hipper's course, now that the range closed to under 18,000 yards (16,000 m). The Germans opened fire first at 15:48, followed by the British. The British ships were still in the process of making their turn, as only the two leading ships – Lion and Princess Royal – had steadied on their course when the Germans opened fire. The German fire was accurate from the beginning, but the British overestimated the range, as the German ships blended into the haze. Queen Mary opened fire about 15:50 on SMS Seydlitz, using only her forward turrets. By 15:54, the range was down to 12,900 yards (11,800 m), and Beatty ordered a course change two points to starboard to open up the range at 15:57. During this period, Queen Mary made two hits on Seydlitz, at 15:55 and 15:57, one of which caused a propellant fire that burnt out her aft superfiring turret
The range had grown too far for accurate shooting, so Beatty altered course four points to port to close the range again between 16:12 and 16:15. This manoeuvre exposed Lion to the fire of the German battlecruisers, and she was hit several times. The smoke and fumes from these hits caused SMS Derfflinger to lose sight of Lion – which had sheered out of line to starboard – and to switch her fire to Queen Mary, now visible to Derfflinger's gunnery officer as the second ship in the British line and therefore assumed to be Princess Royal, at 16:16. Queen Mary hit Seydlitz again at 16:17 and knocked out one gun of her secondary armament. In return, Queen Mary had been hit twice by Seydlitz before 16:21 with unknown effects, but the German battlecruiser hit the turret face of 'Q' turret at that time and knocked out the right-hand gun in the turret. By 16:25, the range was down to 14,400 yards (13,200 m), and Beatty turned two points to starboard to open the range again. This move came too late for Queen Mary, however, as Derfflinger's fire began to take effect, hitting her twice before 16:26.[38] One shell hit forward and detonated one or both of the forward magazines, which broke the ship in two near the foremast. Stationed inside 'Q' turret, Midshipman Jocelyn Storey survived and reported that there had been a large explosion forward which rocked the turret, breaking the left gun in half, the gun breech falling into the working chamber and the right gun coming off its trunnions. Cordite in the working chamber caught fire and produced poisonous fumes that asphyxiated some of the turret's crew. It is doubtful that an explosion forward could have done this, so 'Q' turret may have been struck by the second shell. A further explosion, possibly from shells breaking loose, shook the aft end of the ship as it began to roll over and sink. Tiger, the battlecruiser behind her, was showered with debris from the explosion and forced to steer to port to avoid her remains. 1,266 crewmen were lost; eighteen survivors were picked up by the destroyers Laurel, Petard, and Tipperary, and two by the Germans.
1 of 541 awards of the clasp Benin 1897 awarded to the crew of HMS Theseus.
