The fine Great War Armed Merchant Cruiser Northern Patrol and North Russia and Atlantic Convoy Escort Armoured Cruiser and Mercantile Marine group awarded to Lieutenant P.A. Adams, Royal Naval Reserve. From South Hornsey, Middlesex, he saw service aboard merchant vessels as an apprentice and then officer from October 1905 into the 1930’s, becoming ultimately a Chief Officer, and he was the 2nd Mate of the Houlder Brothers and Company Line vessel “Thorpe Grange” on the outbreak of the war. In July 1915 he left for War Service and was commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve, and then saw service aboard the Admiralty requisitioned Royal Mail Steam Packet Company 14,622 GRT liner and then Armed Merchant Cruiser Arlanza with the 10th Cruiser Squadron on the Northern Patrol when patrolling about 200,000 square miles of the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Arctic Ocean, to prevent German access to or from the North Atlantic. It was whilst returning from a voyage to Arkangelsk with a £500,000 consignment of platinum bullion, that Arlanza, by then carrying a Russian delegation to Britain for a conference with the UK and France, hit a mine in the White Sea in 27 October 1915. The vessel was saved and anchored under repair in Yukanskie anchorage where she overwintered with a skeleton crew of 9 officers and 100 men, whilst the majority of her crew, including her captain were returned to Great Britain. One of the officer’s to remain was Adams. Located in a remote and desolate area surrounded by ice and snow they overwintered, and on one occasion a party from the ship travelled by reindeer sledge across 10 miles of snowy tundra to the Sami village of Yukanski for supplies. In this period Adams was promoted, and later had an ‘Appreciation of Services’ note added to his records for his work on the salvage of the Arlanza. He spent the rest of the war from August 1916 onwards aboard the armoured cruiser Roxburgh on the North American and West Indies Station escorting convoys across the Atlantic. He was present when on 13 February 1918 Roxburgh rammed and sank the German submarine SM U-89 north of Malin Head, Ireland, with no survivors. Adams returned to uniform as a temporary acting Lieutenant Commander during the Second World War.
Group of 4: 1914-1915 Star; (S.LT. P.A. ADAMS. R.N.R.); British War Medal; (LIEUT. P. ADAMS. R.N.R.); Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914-1918; (PERCY A. ADAMS); Victory Medal; (LIEUT. P. ADAMS. R.N.R.), mounted swing style as worn.
Condition: Good Very Fine.
Together with an old photo postcard of the R.M.S. Arlanza, the reverse inscribed in pencil: ‘Dear Mother. Just a line to say that I have just received your letter. This is the Arlanza as she was in peace time, can’t stay to write more…’ Possibly written by someone else, however the recipient served aboard her when the Arlanza was an Armed Merchant Cruiser, and and served with her from September 1915 to July 1916.
Percy Alec Adams was born on 16 December 1888 in South Hornsey, Middlesex, the son of Thomas Adams, a warehouseman, and his wife Mary, nee Clancy. Having opted for a career aboard foreign going merchant ships as an officer, he first went to see as an Apprentice abroad the cargo ship S.S Commonwealth between 10 October 1905 and 17 December 1906, and then performed similar service aboard the S.S. North from 18 December 1906 to 29 October 1909, before gaining his 4th Mate’s Certificate, and being appointed as 4th Mate aboard the S.S. Drayton Grange (No.114,064), a 6,591 GRT four-masted twin-screw British liner, and serving with her between 16 February and 27 August 1910.
Adams had now joined the Glen Line, a Glasgow based shipping line that transported passengers and cargo out to the Far East and China, and he was next appointed a 4th Mate aboard the S.S. Glenroy (No.113,952), a 4,600 GRT cargo vessel, and sailed with her between 28 March and 6 November 1911. He had by now passed his 3rd Mate’s Certificate and then joined the S.S. Glenlochy (No.103,990) as a 3rd Mate, seeing service aboard her from 20 December 1911 to 19 May 1912. Adams was next appointed as 3rd Mate aboard the West Hartlepool register vessel, S.S. Australian Transport (No.132,812), that also transported cargo out to the Far East, and he saw service aboard her between 18 June 1912 and 24 July 1913.
Adams then transferred to the Houlder Brothers and Company Line, and was then appointed as 3rd Mate aboard the S.S. Beacon Grange (No.108,3666) from 17 November 1913 until 20 June 1914, and having passed for 2nd Mate, was then aboard the S.S. Thorpe Grange (No.96,302) from 28 July 1914 until 7 July 1915, being therefore aboard her for the outbreak of the Great War. On 12 July 1915 the managing director of the firm, M.C. Houlder, wrote a letter of recommendation in support of Adams on his having left the company in order ‘to join H.M. Forces’. He wrote that ‘Mr. Adams sobriety, abilities and conduct were favourably report on by the Masters under whom he served. He was in sole charge of a watch of eight hours per twenty four from port to port.’ Adams had by then gained his Certificate of Competency as a First Mate of Foreign-Going Ship, this having originally been awarded to him through the Board of Trade on 19 November 1913, but owing to the Admiralty finding fault with various dates of birth given on his certificates, it was re-issued to him on 27 July 1915. At the time of his leaving for War Service, his home address was given as Chingford, Essex.
Adams was then commissioned as a temporary Sub Lieutenant into the Royal Naval Reserve on 27 July 1915, and was then appointed aboard the Admiralty requisitioned Royal Mail Steam Packet Company 14,622 GRT liner and now Armed Merchant Cruiser Arlanza on 21 September 1915, and seeing service with her through to 22 July 1916. Arlanza formed part of the 10th Cruiser Squadron and operated with the Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B, that formed part of the naval blockade of Germany and the Central Powers. The Squadron patrolled about 200,000square miles of the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Arctic Ocean, to prevent German access to or from the North Atlantic.
Late in 1915 Arlanza was sent to Arkangelsk with a £500,000 consignment of platinum bullion. On her return voyage she was to bring a Russian delegation to Britain for a conference with the UK and France. On 21 October she left the Russian port, preceded by minesweeping naval trawlers and followed by a convoy of merchant ships. Once she was clear of the part of the White Sea thought to be at risk of mines, the trawlers left her. An hour later a mine holed her near her forward hold.
Arlanza's bow dipped 10 to 12 feet (3.0 to 3.7m) lower in the water, but the bulkhead doors between her watertight compartments were closed and prevented her from sinking. Some of her lifeboats were launched and the Russian delegation was taken off. An accident when lowering one of the lifeboats dropped a number of Russian representatives and Royal Navy sailors into the icy water, but all were rescued. One of the trawlers returned to assist but struck one of Arlanza's propellers, which had been raised by the lowering of her bow. The trawler was holed and sank, but Arlanza remained afloat. Everyone who had been taken off returned aboard Arlanza.
A party from the ship travelled by reindeer sledge across 10 miles of snowy tundra to the Sami village of Yukanski for supplies. The ship remained at Yukanskie anchorage. On 10 November the armed merchant cruiser Orotava reached Arlanza. The next day they exchanged supplies: Orotava furnishing the damaged cruiser with steel cable in exchange for surplus cordite and ammunition. On 12 November Arlanza's captain embarked on Orotava with 29 of his officers, one petty officer and 221 of his ratings to return to the UK. A reduced crew of nine officers and 100 men stayed aboard Arlanza in the White Sea, making temporary repairs to enable her to return to Ireland. One of those who remained on board was Adams, and he therefore overwintered with his vessel whilst she was anchored in the Yukanskie anchorage. This would have been a remote circumstance to have found himself in, and the nine officers and 100 men would have found themselves trapped for that period whilst awaiting the salvaging of their vessel. Adams was appointed to temporary acting Lieutenant on 29 January 1916 whilst stranded in the icy bay off of North Russia.
On 7–9 April, Arlanza moved to the Kola Inlet. On 3 June 1916 the Thames tug Racia reached Kola Inlet to tow the cruiser back to Belfast. Adams caught the ire of the Ship’s Log when on 21 June whilst in Kola Inlet he left the ship at 8 pm ‘without first obtaining permission’. On 26 June the tug started to tow the cruiser home, with the cruiser using her own engines to assist as required. One source claims that the task proved too much for the tug, but Arlanza managed to return to Ireland under her own power. However, Arlanza's log does not record Racia casting off. The two ships were still together on 30 June, but it is not clear whether the tug was still towing the cruiser by then. Arlanza reached Belfast on 8 July 1916 for repairs. Arlanza was not fully repaired and returned to service until 21 November 1916.
In the meantime Adams had left the Arlanza whilst she was docked at Belfast on 22 July 1916, and had an ‘Appreciation of Services’ note added to his records for his work on the salvage of the Arlanza.
Whilst still a temporary acting Lieutenant, Adams was posted aboard the armoured cruiser Roxburgh, and saw continuous service with her between 18 August 1916 and 4 March 1919. During his period he was confirmed in his promotion to temporary Lieutenant on 27 July 1917, but on the same date had his application to sit for his Masters Certificate refused. At the time of his joining Roxburgh, she was being assigned to the North American and West Indies Station for convoy escort duties. On 13 February 1918 Roxburgh rammed and sank the German submarine SM U-89 north of Malin Head, Ireland, with no survivors. This submarine, commanded by Kapitan Leutnant Wilhelm Bauck, had sunk some five vessels prior to being sunk by Roxburgh.
On 4 February 1919 Adams was admitted to hospital at Plymouth when suffering from influenza, and spent three weeks recuperating. His captain aboard Rpxburgh noted him as a ‘capable and good officer of watch’. Adams was demobilised on 3 April 1919. Adams claimed his Great War medals in September 1919.
In the meantime, Adams had gained his Board of Trade Masters Certificate of Competency as Master on a foreign-going ship on 31 March 1919. Since July 1915 his home address had been given as Walton-on-Naze, Essex, but from May 1919 he was in Leeds, Yorkshire, and by September 1939 would be in Preston, Lancashire. As of March 1933 he was serving as a Chief Officer aboard merchant ships, but by 1939 he had left the sea and was living in Preston and working as shopkeeper of a tobacconist store. However with the outbreak of the Second World War, he offered his services, and then returned to uniform of being appointed as a temporary Lieutenant with the Royal Naval Reserve from 8 November 1939. He was then appointed to acting temporary Lieutenant Commander on 1 October 1940. Adams saw service through to 1945, when he was demobilised, and is believed to have been employed on home service throughout the War. He died in 1965 in Hailsham, Sussex.
