HMS ''St George'' was a first class

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

of the . She was launched on 23 June 1892.

Service history

In 1895 ''St George'' was on the West Coast of Africa. Together with two

Redbreast-class gunboat The ''Redbreast'' class comprised nine first-class screw-driven composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1889, mounting six guns. Construction Design The ''Redbreast'' class were designed by Sir William Henry White, the Royal Navy Direc ...

s and two local steamers, crew from the ship in one of her boats took part in a reprisal at Nimbi in the

Niger delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

against King Koko for the Akassa raid. ''St George'' took part in the 40-minute-long

Anglo-Zanzibar War The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the sh ...

in 1896. The obsolete armed yacht of Zanzibar fired upon a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

flotilla led by ''St George'', also comprising , , and . The response sank ''Glasgow'' with a hole below the waterline. With a Union Jack flying over the sinking yacht in surrender, the flotilla launched lifeboats to rescue the crew of ''Glasgow'' which would lie at the bottom of Zanzibar Town Harbour until 1912. She served in the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

. In 1901, she was one of two escort ships for the

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

, which carried the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later

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 his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

and Queen Mary) during their tour of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Following the end of this tour, the captain of ''Ophir'', Commodore

Alfred Winsloe Admiral Sir Alfred Leigh Winsloe, (25 April 1852 – 16 February 1931) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station. Early life Winsloe was born in Pitminster, Somerset, the son of Richard Winsloe and Maria Louis ...

, reverted to his position as Commodore commanding the Cruiser squadron, and was in late 1901 posted to ''St George'', which thus became the lead ship of the squadron and carried his

broad pennant A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either: (a) a Royal Navy officer in the rank of Commodore, or (b) a U.S. Navy ...

. In May 1902 she was taken into

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

for a refit. She took part in the fleet review at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

on 16 August 1902 for the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, and in September that year was part of a squadron visiting

Nauplia Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

for combined manoeuvres in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. After her return to Portsmouth in late October, she paid off on 15 November and her crew was transferred to . She was the flagship of the Cape & West Africa Station ( Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson) based at

Simon's Town Simon's Town (), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of Simon's Bay in False Bay, on the eastern s ...

, and served in the First World War. Sidney R. Olivier commanded the ship between 2 November 1915 and 1919. She was designated as a

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...

in 1909, and sold for breaking up at Plymouth on 1 July 1920.

Notes

References

* * Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979), Edgar-class cruisers Ships built on the Humber Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom 1892 ships {{UK-mil-ship-stub