Current Information:

Age-17

31, Franklin Road Penge

Beckenham Crematorium & Cemetery

HMS Glatton was a Gorgon class Monitor ship of the Royal Navy which, on 16th September, 1918, was in Dover harbour, fully loaded with ammunition, depth charges and other explosives, ready to ferry soldiers across the Channel from Dover to France and then to be part of an attack on the German held Belgium coast.  At 6.15 that evening, when many of the crew were ashore, a fire broke out in one of her magazines, containing six inch shells. All efforts to put this out failed and there was a grave danger that the fire might spread to the other magazines and cause a devastating explosion that could have destroyed much of Dover as well as all the other ships in the harbour. The decision was taken to sink her and two destroyers fired torpedoes  at her after which HMS Glatton slowly turned turtle. The crisis was over but there were many casualties. 60 men were killed outright and 124 were injured of whom 19 later died of their burns. One of those who did not survive this incident was Albert Winstone who died from his wounds on 17th September.