Srervice number:  J23618

Ship:  HMS Tornado

David would have been aboard HMS Tornado when it was destroyed by mines.

23rd December 1917 must have been one of the worst days to remember for the British Royal Navy, as 3 destroyers and 252 seamen were lost in just one day.

HMS Tornado, HMS Torrent and HMS Surprise, were all three lost to a minefield laid by the Germans one month before near the Maas light Vessel to protect the port of Rotterdam.

They were all three just newly built in 1916-1917 and were at that time the best destroyers the British Royal Navy had.

HMS TORNADO
British Navy Destroyer
Built in 1917 by A. Stephen & Son;

Weight:  1,091 tons

Diamentions:  276x26x11 ft.;

Engine:  27,000 s.h.p; 36 knots; turbine engines and Yarrow boilers
Armament:  Three 4 in. guns and four T.T.