HMS ''Royal Arthur'' was a first class cruiser of the , previously named ''Centaur'', but renamed in 1890 prior to launching. She served on the Australia Station and briefly on the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...

before returning to the Home Fleet in 1906. She was paid off after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Service history

''Royal Arthur'', and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class. She was built at Portsmouth and launched on 26 February 1891. She first was the flagship of the

Pacific Station The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast o ...

from 1893 to 1896, before being refitted at Portsmouth in 1897. She then served as the flagship of the Australian Station from 1897 to 1904.Bastock, p.117-118. In that role she provided escort for the royal yacht carrying the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and Queen Mary) to Australia to open the new Federal Parliament in 1901. She visited

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

in July 1902, and

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

the following month. In January 1903 Vice Admiral

Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Dalrymple Fanshawe, (2 April 1847 – 21 January 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain he became commanding officer, successively, of the troopships and , which were tasked with ferrying troops between th ...

took command of the Australia Station and hoisted his flag on the ship. She left the Australia Station on 6 April 1904 and was paid off and refitted at Portsmouth. She recommissioned in 1905 and served on the

before returning to England in 1906. Laid up in reserve for three years, she served as part of the Home Fleet and later Queenstown Training Squadron. She was a guardship at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

during the early part of the

and later as a submarine depot ship. In the small hours of September 9th 1914, HMS Royal Arthur collided with the

swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

ship s/s ''Tua.'' The ship suffered catastrophic damage and started to sink. Lines were cast from the cruiser to help save the crew and all but one crew member, 54 year old machinist Erik Gustav Sjölin, were saved. His body was never found. HMS Royal Arthur in drydock Sydney

Fate

She was paid off in 1920 and sold in August 1921 for breaking up in Germany.

References

Sources

*Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. * * Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979),

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Arthur (1891) Edgar-class cruisers Ships built in Portsmouth Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1891 ships