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Lesson Plan for HENRY AMOS IRELAND – Life in the Navy

Date: KS3 Topic/KS4 Module:Lesson Number: Set/Mixed:Number of Boys: Number of

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Lesson ObjectivesWhat I intend to teach

Learning OutcomesWhat pupils are expected to learn

Assessment/differentiation opportunities

Strategies for obtaining evidence to show progress and challenge

for all pupilsWhat life was like in the Navy in the First World War

OR

What happened at the Battle of Jutland?

Students are able to explain some of the difficulties experienced by young men in the Navy in the First World War

OR

Students are able to explain the some of the key points of the Battle of Jutland

Lesson Plan for Henry Ireland & Life in the Navy for educational use 1 of 20

Starter: (approx 5 mins) Activities to immediately engage the pupils in the learning process

Main Activities Timeline: Activities which support and enable the learning

The big question: What was life like in the Navy in the First World War?

OR

What happened at the Battle of Jutland?

OR

Why was the Battle of Jutland a turning point in the Naval War?

OR

Use as a jumping-off place for more research into naval battles of the First World War

OR

Create a ship’s log book for the H.M.S. Tipperary

Plenary: (approx 5 mins) Activities which allow pupils to reflect on and share their learning

Notes for Teachers

Henry Amos Ireland, Boy 1st Class, Royal Navy

Henry was born in Banstead, Surrey on 19th February 1899, the eighth of ten children born to Albert and Ann Ireland (née Webb). In 1911 the family was still living in Banstead, where Albert was employed as an asylum attendant, but they subsequently moved to Selsey to live at ‘Glen Roy’ in the High Street.

At the outbreak of war, Henry had been working as an errand boy, but in February 1915, just before his 16th birthday, he joined the Navy as a ‘Boy 2nd Class’. He was posted to the Royal Navy training establishment HMS Ganges, at Shotley, Suffolk and after three months was promoted to ‘Boy 1st Class’. He then spent a fortnight at HMS Vernon, a shore establishment at Portsmouth, before transferring to HMS Tipperary.

Henry was only 17 when HMS Tipperary, leader of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, took part in the Battle of Jutland, at the end of May 1916. Here is an extract describing some of the action on the night of 31st May, from the book, Naval Operations Vol. III by Sir Julian S. Corbett, pub. 1923:

“Captain Wintour and the leading boats of his solitary flotilla were aware of a shadowy line of ships to starboard on a converging course. Whether they were friend or foe it was impossible to tell, and he held on for some minutes with all torpedo tubes trained to starboard. Still they made no sign, and at last, as they were evidently drawing ahead of him and had closed to less than 1,000 yards, he ventured to give the challenge. Salvoes, accurate and rapid, at point blank followed instantaneously, and in a minute the Tipperary burst into flames, almost lost to sight in brilliantly illuminated splashes… …The first salvo had swept away the Tipperary's bridge on which he stood, and she was left a mass of burning wreckage…”

The Tipperary remained afloat until just before 2am, when she heeled slightly to starboard and then her bows gradually went under. There were few survivors. Henry was one of the 185 men of the 197 aboard who died. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial at Southsea on panel 14, and was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Attached are: Page Reconstruction of birth certificate, with correct information 3 Family tree 4 First page of presentation Bible 5 A selection of fictitious letters 6-8 Photograph of Henry 9 Picture of Shotley Barracks - H.M.S. Ganges training “ship” 10 Pictures of loading and firing shells 11 Map of the Battle of Jutland 12 Pictures of the fleet and the Battle of Jutland 13 Pictures of H.M.S. Tipperary and Dreadnought S.M.S.Westfalen 14 Notes on the Battle of Jutland 15 Notification of death letter for Henry 16

Pictures of Henry’s medals and Henry’s name on Portsmouth War Memorial 17

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German poster comparing British and German losses at the Battle of Jutland 18


Henry Amos Ireland 19th February 99

26th February 99John Gilliland Banstead














AliceDaisy

1890-1901

HenryAmos

1899-1916

AnnieRose

1889-1943

GeorgeRobert

1900-1980

IvyDoreen

1902-1903xxxx

Arthur Ernest

1895-1895

Frank Roger 1897-1966

Lillian Maud 1894-1963

Eleanor Louise

1892-1980

AlbertJames

1887-1959

Albert James Ireland

1860-1941

AnnieWebb

1862-1937

Henry Amos Ireland’s

Bookplate inside Henry’s Bible



Fictitious letter 1 to illustrate what life was like training H.M.S.Vernon, Portsmouth

May 1915Dear Mum,I am on the H.M.S. Vernon, you know – the training ship in Portsmouth. Much better than H.M.S. Ganges in Shotley. Finally I feel I am learning something practical. Now I am so much closer to home I will see if I can get some time off to come and visit home for a few days. I think it would be quite easy to do on the train. I have missed you and dad Mum, and I can’t wait to have some proper home cooked food. I didn’t mind the food we had at Shotley, it was sort of what I had expected, joining the Navy, but it’s the same sort of stuff here and it’s pretty boring to say the least. You’d think in the Navy there would be lots of fresh fish like we have at home - but there isn’t.

I’m learning all about torpedoes and shells. Did you know, a torpedo has to be 200 feet away from the ship sending it before it can explode? I’m not sure why but I suppose it makes sense - one wouldn’t want one to explode underneath one’s feet. I’ve seen some of the results of torpedo fire – they’re quite amazing! I could never have imagined that one torpedo could do so much damage! Oh Mum, I know what you’re doing right now – you are worrying about one being fired at me. Mum, you know I live a charmed life – it won’t happen. Besides, I heard a rumour that some of us are going to be sent to some of the big destroyers. They’re so strong I don’t think that any German dreadnought could

Fictitious letter 2 to illustrate what life was like on board ship HMS Tipperary, Harwich

June 1915Dear Mum,

I’ve joined HMS Tipperary, Mum. It all sounds a bit complicated but HMS Tipperary is the second flotilla leader with the 3rd destroyer flotilla in the Harwich force. Basically it means we are quite important. She is one of the Faulknor class of destroyers. I don’t know what life will be like as a Boy 1st

Class – basically I seem to have to follow an awful lot of orders. It’s a huge great steam ship – it has six steam turbines and when they are all going the noise in the boiler room is incredible. It’s 331 foot long and 32 feet wide. A couple of the officers seem quite nice, especially a Gerald Collins, but he is still very stern and barks his orders. There are other Boy 1s like me: John Frederick Bateman, Herbert Humphrys and Frederick Trickitt are my particular mates.Do you know, Mum, I thought that everyone would be awfully old on board, but most people are young.

I hate sleeping in the hammocks though. I seem to have no space or privacy at all, and when it is rough I am always bumping into other people. They say hammocks are the best way of sleeping on board, but I notice that the officers


Fictitious letter 3 to illustrate what life was like on board ship H.M.S. Tipperary. Somewhere February 19th, 1916

Dear Mum,Just a note, as I am about to go on duty. I know normally you would be

sending me a card and making me a cake but I can’t get any cards on board of course as you don’t know where I am. I don’t know where I am in fact!! Somewhere cold and grey and where it feels like I will never get warm again. Not the most exciting way of spending my 17 th birthday. Can you believe it – 17? The other lads here have been teasing me – they call me a baby, although I am not the youngest here I don’t think. Anyway, I might get an extra drink or something at mess this evening if there is no action happening.

In the meantime I am on lookout. It is a cold thing to do, even in the daytime. The waves are grey and icy, and it is impossible to keep completely dry. Stamping my feet to keep warm doesn’t seem to work, though it stops me freezing in place like a Henry shaped icicle. It’s hard to really see anything through the glasses. The ship goes up and down in the waves, and often the waves cover the decks and water sloshes up and down. If you do think you see something, it is almost impossible to find it again. Several times I have seen ships in the distance that apparently belong to the enemy, but they haven’t bothered us, and they were too far away for us to do anything about them.

Got to go Mum. I think of you, cooking in front of the fire and I wish I was home with you, all toasty warm, with the smell of my birthday cake cooking in the background.

Fictitious letter 4 to illustrate what life was like on board ship H.M.S. Tipperary

Somewhere in the North SeaMay 1916

Dear Mum,We’ve gone up in the world - I think I told you that we had been put in charge

of a whole lot of other destroyers from the 2nd flotilla. Well! Now we are the leader of the 4th Flotilla under Captain C. J. Wintour. There are 197 crew on board Mum. We will be protecting all sorts of ships, as well as having a chance at having a pop at some of the German dreadnoughts.I hope you are all well at home. I think of you all often, but right now I wouldn’t want to come home. You know, before the war started, I got so bored running errands in Selsey. I mean, there wasn’t anything wrong with Selsey – it’s just that it is small, and the world is so big. I’ve seen so many places that I never dreamed of. Lots of the work I do on board is boring as well of course. I hate swabbing the decks. It’s always so cold, and I get so wet and it’s hard to warm up and it seems so pointless when five minutes after I have finished they are dirty again – but the officers say it leads to good discipline. It probably does.Captain Wintour seems like a good Captain. Of course, he hasn’t spoken to me as I am too far below him, but he seems a decent bloke from what I have seen. Maybe I will be


Fictitious letter 5 to illustrate what life was like on board ship H.M.S. Tipperary

North SeaNear DenmarkMay 31, 1916

Dear Mum,I don’t know how long this letter is going to be. We are expected to

see action today and there seems to be some serious concern. We are getting our torpedoes ready. All that training in Portsmouth a year ago is going to be put to good use. Rumour says that we will be fighting tonight. It’s exciting and frightening at the same time. I have seen some of those German dreadnought ships - they seem so massive and so strong. However, we are the best Navy in the world - and I think we will soon send them scuttling off to Germany.

Oh Mum, wouldn’t it be exciting if I could put a hole in one of those ships. Chances are, I won’t fire any of the torpedoes – I am not important enough. But, you never know. What I have been doing is helping to load them. They are so big and so heavy. You’d never think, Mum, they are as long as me – and heavier I think. I got really mucky doing the loading – there seemed to be huge amounts of black oil everywhere. It took me ages to get it all off. You won’t recognise me next time you see me. Not only am I much taller and broader with all sorts of muscles you haven’t seen, I am also very handy. I can sew on buttons, darn socks, cook a basic meal, and wash my clothes. I bet you never thought I would be able to do all that.

I do want the war to end Mum. I want to come home, and I hate the nights I have to stand on deck on watch in the winter, and sluice the decks with freezing sea water – but I do love the feeling of doing something useful and helping us win the war, and we have some good times as well. To be honest Mum, I’m not sure what I might do when the war is over. It’ll have to be something to do with the sea, but I don’t fancy fishing. Maybe I can stay in the Navy.

HENRY AMOS IRELAND



The Beds in this Dorm are closer than in others and we have got a polished deck and gear racks in between R These Boys look as if they are fed up Don’t They

This 1912 postcard shows the dormitory where Henry would have stayed at Shotley Barracks, HMS Ganges, when he was training as a ‘Boy 1st Class’ in 1915.

Below shows what was written on the back of the postcard


A 15 inch (39 cm) diameter shell being loaded aboard ship. These shells didn’t get through the 8 inch (20 cm) thick armour of some of the German ships, but

exploded outside instead.

British guns being fired



Warships of the 4th Battle Squadron at sea © IWM (Q 68735)http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205357600


THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND


The destroyer, HMS Tipperary, was sunk on June 1, 1916 by a 5.9 inch fire from the German dreadnought SMS Westfalen, with the loss of 185 hands from a crew of 197. The first shots from the Westfalen blew away the bridge, including the life of the Captain and the officers on the bridge. A GERMAN OBSERVER WROTE, “The Tipperary put up a courageous fight, but the oil fuel caught fire and soon enveloped the ship in a fiery halo; charge after charge exploded in the ready ammunition racks near the guns, and shell after shell struck the ship forward, but the crew of the after gun continued to fire”.

THE GERMAN DREADNOUGHT SMS WESTFALEN

THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND

The battle of Jutland was the only major naval battle of the First World War. Although the British Navy lost the battle, they damaged so much of the German navy in the process that it was never able to be effective again afterwards, whereas the British Navy remained strong.

The Battle of Jutland had been a battle waiting to happen! Britain had prized itself for years for having the best navy in the world, and certainly in Europe, but shortly before the First World War began in 1914, there had been a naval race between Germany and Britain, with each country trying to make bigger and better battleships. The new invention in 1906 was the Dreadnought – a type of battleship that was bigger and better than anything that had gone before.

Apart from protecting the countries of the British Empire, during the First World War the main aim of the British navy was to stop German ships from accessing the Atlantic. It was thought unlikely that the German Navy would try to sail through the English Channel since a large part of the British Navy was based in Portsmouth, but there were fears that it might try to go round the north of Scotland and access the Atlantic that way. The British wanted to

keep the Germans out of the Atlantic to protect the merchant shipping bringing in needed food to the British Isles. Consequently it based part of the Navy in the North Sea in the areas of Rosyth, Cromarty and Scapa Flow.


In May 1916 the German Navy sent 40 ships along the Danish coast. This was seen as a possible attempt to access the Atlantic, so the British Grand Fleet (52 ships) put to sea. It was hard to know exactly where the Germans were – aviation had not advanced for enough for British planes to fly around the North Sea looking for German ships, so instead each side sent out cruisers to hunt down the other side’s navy. When they did find them, on May 31, 1916 the battle began, with each side opening fire at a distance of approximately ten miles from each other. The battle continued into the morning of June 1st .

The Germans claimed that they had won as they lost only 9 ships (some records say 11) and had only 2,500 lost lives, whereas the British had lost 14 ships (one of which was H.M.S. Tipperary) and over 6,000 lives (one of whom was Henry Amos Ireland).


Letter sent to Henry’s mother to say that the Tipperary had sunk in action and Henry should be presumed dead


One of Henry’s War Medals – the 1914-15 Star

Henry Ireland’s name on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial at Southsea


1916 German Postcard showing a nearly accurate version of the losses at the Battle of Jutland


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