The superb Great War Battle of Jutland battleship Warspite, Second World War Arctic Convoys Minesweeping and Rescue operations Mention in Despatches and inter-war long service group awarded to Able Seaman Arthur Kyle, Royal Navy. A seaman gunner, and from Hawick, Scotland, he had an eventful first war when aboard the battleship Warspite at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 when this ship as part of the the 5th Battle Squadron was exposed to heavy fire from the German High Seas Fleet as the force turned away to the north, although Warspite was able to score her first hit on the battlecruiser Von der Tann. She then exchanging fire with both Hipper's battlecruiser force and the leading elements of Scheer's battleships. Warspite was holed 150 times during the battle, and had 14 killed and 16 wounded. Kule was with the light cruiser Apollo when he was awarded his long service medal in November 1937. Kyle re-enlisted into the Royal Navy for the Second World War, and if is fair to say his experiences at Jutland must have paled into insignificance to those from his time aboard the minesweeper Britomart that was near enough continuously employed off North Russia between August 1941 and November 1943, and in doing so became one of the most significant support vessels to the numerous Arctic Convoys that plied the route from Iceland and to and from Anghangel and Murmansk. Britomart was involved in the very first such convoy, namely PQ 1, and went on to be present for more than 10 of the famed Arctic Convoys, not least PQ 17 and PQ 18, as well as JW 52. In addition to the major inward and outward convoys, she also escorted a number of small local convoys that only sailed within local Russian waters. For PQ 17, Britomart sailed for Reykjavík and on 27 June 1942 joined convoy PQ 17 with HMS Salamander and Halcyon, these being the three minesweeping escorts. The convoy was ordered to scatter by the Admiralty on 4 July in view of the presumed threat of attack by the German capital ships Tirpitz, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper. Britomart was deployed on 5 July with several of the smaller escorts to search for the scattered merchant ships. She and the escorts gathered up six merchants and made for Novaya Zemlya, whilst under continued air attack. The battered ships arrived at Archangel on 11 July, and Britomart resumed her sweeping duties. Throughout her time in the Barents Sea, this vessel won the admiration of the Soviets, and Kyle is known to have been aboard her throughout the entirety of her service there. As a seaman gunner earlier in his naval service, it is likely that Kyle filled this capacity manning anti-aircraft weapons or similar throughout his time aboard Britomart, and he more than deserved the award of the Mention in Despatches for gallant and distinguished services, that was announced to him in the New Years Honours List for January 1944, this being confirmed as earned for his services aboard the minesweeper Britomart, and the newspaper The Southern Reporter for 6 April 1944 confirmed that Kyle, who had over 30 years service in the Royal Navy, had just ‘been mentioned in despatches “for devotion to duty during minesweeping operations and convoy duties to North Russia and for services rendered to the ship.”
Group of 7: 1914-1915 Star; (J.33373. A. KYLE. BOY.1., R.N.); British War Medal and Victory Medal; (J.33373. A. KYLE. A.B. R.N.); 1939-1945 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal with Mention in Despatches Oakleaf; Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, GVI 1st type bust; (J.33373 A. KYLE. A.B. H.M.S. APOLLO.), first three and last mounted swing style as worn, the Second World War awards are housed in their Director of Navy Accounts card box of issue, this addressed to: ‘Mr. A. Kyle, 29 Wellsgate Place, Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland’ Also a separated pin back Mention in Despatches Oakleaf for wear on the tunic.
Condition: First three lightly polished, overall Good Very Fine.
Arthur Kyle was born on 22 July 1898 in Hawick, Roxburgh, Scotland, and having apprenticed as but not been intended as a frame smith, then owing to the outbreak of the Great War, joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class (Devonport No.J.33373) with Ganges from 14 November 1914, being rated as a Boy 1st Class on 27 March 1915, and then joined the battleship Warspite from 20 April 1915, being aboard her when rated as an Ordinary Seaman on 22 February 1916 and as an Able Seaman on 25 May 1916. He saw service in the Seaman Gunnery Branch.
Following the German raid on Lowestoft in April 1916, Warspite and the 5th Battle Squadron were temporarily assigned to Vice-Admiral David Beatty’s Battlecruiser Force. On 31st May Warspite deployed with the squadron to fight in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval encounter between Britain and Germany during the war. Following a signalling error, the battleships were left trailing Beatty's fast ships during the battlecruiser action, and the 5th Battle Squadron was exposed to heavy fire from the German High Seas Fleet as the force turned away to the north, although Warspite was able to score her first hit on the battlecruiser Von der Tann.
Having escaped the trap the 5th Battle Squadron headed north, exchanging fire with both Hipper's battlecruiser force and the leading elements of Scheer's battleships, damaging Markgraf. When the squadron turned to join the Grand Fleet the damage from a shell hitting the port-wing engine room caused Warspite's steering to jam as she attempted to avoid her sister-ships Valiant and Malaya. Captain Phillpotts decided to maintain course, in effect circling, rather than come to a halt and reverse. This decision exposed Warspite and made her a tempting target; she was hit 13 times, but inadvertently diverted attention from the armoured cruiser Warrior, which had been critically damaged whilst attacking the leading elements of the German fleet. This action gained her the admiration of Warrior's surviving crew, who believed that Warspite's movement had been intentional.
The crew regained control of Warspite after two full circles. Their efforts to end the circular motion placed her on a course which took her towards the German fleet. The rangefinders and the transmission station were non-functional and only "A" turret could fire, albeit under local control with 12 salvos falling short of their target. Sub Lieutenant Herbert Annesley Packer was subsequently promoted for his command of "A" turret. Rather than continue, Warspite was stopped for ten minutes so the crew could make repairs. They succeeded in correcting the problem, but the ship would be plagued with steering irregularities for the rest of her naval career. As the light faded the Grand Fleet crossed ahead of the German battle line and opened fire, forcing the High Seas Fleet to retreat and allowing Warspite to slip away.
Warspite was holed 150 times during the battle, and had 14 killed and 16 wounded; among the latter warrant officer Walter Yeo, who became one of the first men to receive facial reconstruction via plastic surgery. Although she had been extensively damaged, Warspite could still raise steam and was ordered back to Rosyth during the evening of 31st May by Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas, commander of the 5th Battle Squadron. Whilst travelling across the North Sea the ship came under attack from a German U-boat. The U-boat fired three torpedoes, all of which missed their target. Warspite later attempted to ram a surfaced U-boat. She signalled ahead for escorts and a squadron of torpedo boats came out to meet her. They were too slow to screen her effectively, but there were no more encounters with German vessels and she reached Rosyth safely on the morning of 1 June, where it took two months to repair the damage.
Kyle was posted to Vivid i from 26 July 1916, and he was posted to the scout cruiser Active from 27 September 1916, and remained aboard her for the rest of the war. By the end of 1916, this ship was assigned to the Dover Patrol and was present during two battles with German destroyers, but was not engaged in either. Active was based in Ireland by the beginning of 1918, but was soon transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and based in Gibraltar for the rest of the war. Kyle was posted off her in February 1920, and then saw service aboard the destroyer Wolverine from September 1920 through to February 1926. He was aboard the destroyer Venturous from May 1927 to March 1928 and the destroyer Venetia from March to April 1928, and then joined the battlecruiser Hood from August 1928.
Kyle’s records for the 1930’s onwards have not been found by the cataloguer however he was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 23 November 1937 whilst serving aboard the light cruiser Aoollo, which vessel was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in the following year. Kyle is known to have re-engaged as a Pensioned Able Seaman on 16 April 1938.
During the Second World War, Kyle returned to service as an Able Seaman (Devonport No.JX.158213) with the Royal Navy, and according to local newspaper The Hawick News of 11 October 1940, was on service aboard the minesweeper Britomart. From August 1940 this vessel was part of the 3rd Escort Group and served with Hazard and Bramble. At this time they were based at Stornoway and deployed as local escorts for the Atlantic convoys, as well as their usual sweeping duties. Kyle and Britomart then found themselves on Arctic convoys.
Britomart was nominated in August 1941 for detached service in North Russia, carrying out sweeping duties to ensure the safe passage of Russian Convoys to and from Iceland. Her sisters Gossamer, Leda and Hussar were nominated at the same time, and ordered to join Halcyon, Harrier, and Salamanda, which were already at Archangel. After preparing for Arctic service they sailed for Iceland in September and on 29 September they joined convoy PQ 1 with the cruiser Suffolk. The convoy arrived at Archangel on 11 October and the flotilla commenced their Russian deployment. Between October 1941 and January 1942 Britomart was engaged in sweeping operations in the Barents Sea, ensuring the safe movement of traffic in and out of the ports of Archangel and Murmansk. On 7 February she joined Sharpshooter in escorting the inward bound convoys PQ 3 and PQ 10 until their arrival in Murmansk on 10 February. On 13 February they joined the return convoy QP 7 through the Barents Sea, before being detached on 15 February and returning to Murmansk.
Britomart served in North Russia until March 1942, when she was nominated to return to the UK. On 21 March she and Sharpshooter joined the return convoy QP 9 at Kola Inlet. They sailed with the convoy as far as Reykjavik, which they reached on 3 April. They then sailed to the UK, where they were taken in hand for a refit. The refit lasted throughout May, during which time a Type 271 radar was fitted. She sailed for Reykjavík again in completion of these works and on 27 June 1942 joined convoy PQ 17 with HMS Salamander and Halcyon. The convoy was ordered to scatter by the Admiralty on 4 July in view of the presumed threat of attack by the German capital ships Tirpitz, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper. Britomart was deployed on 5 July with several of the smaller escorts to search for the scattered merchant ships. She and the escorts gathered up six merchants and made for Novaya Zemlya, whilst under continued air attack. The battered ships arrived at Archangel on 11 July, and Britomart resumed her sweeping duties.
She carried these duties out throughout August 1942 and into September, and on 13 September was part of the local escort for Convoy QP 14, with HMS Halcyon, Hazard and Salamander. On 18 September they joined two Soviet destroyers in escorting the inward bound Convoy PQ 18, which had come under air attack. The convoy arrived on 20 September and Britomart resumed her sweeping duties. She was next deployed on 17 November with HMS Halcyon, Hazard, Salamander and Sharpshooter in escorting Convoy QP 15 through the Barents Sea. They were detached on 20 November and returned to Archangel. Britomart was briefly in the UK at the start of 1943, but was nominated to return to Russia as part of the escort for convoy JW 52, and joined the assembled convoy at Loch Ewe. She deployed on 17 January with the corvettes Lotus and Starwort, and three naval trawlers. The convoy came under air attack on 24 January, but these were ineffective. They arrived on 27 January and Britomart resumed her usual duties.
She escorted several more convoys through the Barents in February 1943 and on 24 July 1943 she helped get a fire under control after an attack by four Messerschmitt Bf 109s started a fire on the SS Llandaff. The attack took place about 20 nautical miles (37km) NE of Kildin Island. Llandaff was part of a small convoy bringing timber from the White Sea to Kola Inlet. Britomart then continued her sweeping duties until October. She briefly came under air attack whilst sweeping off Cape Article, and was hit by two bombs. They bounced off the deck without exploding. She returned to the UK in November 1943, having escorted convoy RA 54A and after arriving on 14 November she underwent a refit.
Since at least October 1940 and through until November 1943, Kyle is known to have been aboard Britomart, and as such was present for more than 10 of the famed Arctic Convoys, including both the very first PQ 1 and of course both PQ 17 and PQ 18, and also JW 52. In addition to the major inward and outward convoys, she escorted a number of small local convoys that only sailed within local Russian waters. Having been a Seaman Gunner in his earlier service, it is likely that Kyle filled this capacity manning anti-aircraft weapons or similar throughout his time aboard Britomart, and he more than deserved the award of the Mention in Despatches for gallant and distinguished services, that was announced to him in the New Years Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 1 January 1944, this being confirmed as earned for his services aboard the minesweeper Britomart.
The newspaper The Southern Reporter for 6 April 1944 confirmed that Kyle, the son of Mr and Mrs George Kyle of 6 Bourtrees Terrace in Hawick, had over 30 years service in the Royal Navy, and had just ‘been mentioned in despatches “for devotion to duty during minesweeping operations and convoy duties to North Russia and for services rendered to the ship.”
It is unclear if Kyle remained aboard Britomart after she came out of her refit, but if he did he would have been with her when she joined the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla. Throughout February and March 1944 this flotilla carried out its duties in the North Sea, and was subsequently nominated for minesweeping support during the planned allied landings in Normandy. As such, Britomart, together with the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla sailed for Portsmouth in April 1944 and joined Force S. They were instructed to clear the approach channels to the beach head anchorage areas, and had three Motor Launches and four Isles class danlayers attached to the flotilla for these duties. Britomart took part in preparatory exercises with the ships of Force S, and carried out night sweeping exercises with the Flotilla. After briefings in Portsmouth she deployed in Channel 9 in advance of the assault convoys.
The operation was delayed by 24 hours on 4 June, and they sailed from the Solent on 5 June to commence operations. They carried out their sweeps, and on completion of this by 6 June they began clearing the anchorages. They were deployed on 8 June to begin widening the approach channels and carrying out defence patrols off the Eastern Task Force landing areas. They carried this out throughout July, under constant threat of attack from E-Boats and midget submarines. By August Britomart was deployed off Arromanches. They were transferred to the Le Havre area for mine sweeping operations in the anchorage selected for the bombardment of enemy positions by Warspite, Erebus and Roberts. They came under shore fire on 23 August during these operations, but by 26 August they had received permission to remain in the area to complete the clearances instead of returning to Arromanches.
Whilst carrying out these clearances on 27 August 1944, the flotilla came under rocket attack by RAF Typhoons. Britomart and Hussar took direct hits and were sunk. Salamander had her stern blown off and sustained heavy damage, while Jason was raked by cannon fire, killing and wounding several of her crew. Two of the trawlers were also hit. The incident was found to be due to the failure of the Flag Officer British Assault Area to ensure that the approval of the extended minesweeping operation had been passed to those concerned with the air operations over the beaches. The ships were assumed to be enemy craft, since the air commanders believed that no allied ships were in the area at the time.
Kyle may or may not have been aboard Britomart on 27 August 1944 when she was sunk in the friendly fire incident, but he subsequently claimed his campaign medals for the Second World War, which together with the Mention in Despatches Oakleaf, were sent to him when residing at 29 Wellsgate Place, Hawick.
