HMS ''Welland'' was a Yarrow-built

River-class destroyer The River-class destroyer (re-designated in 1913 as the E class) was a class of torpedo boat destroyer built for the Royal Navy at the turn of the 20th century, and which saw extensive service in World War I. The class introduced new features t ...

ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1902 – 1903 Naval Estimates. Named after the

River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market ...

that drains into

the Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the river ...

on the English east coast, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

Construction

She was laid down on 1 October 1902 at the Yarrow shipyard at Poplar and launched on 14 April 1904. She was completed in July 1904. Her original armament was to be the same as the "turtleback" torpedo boat destroyers that preceded her. In 1906 the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament by removing five 6-pounder guns and adding three 12-pounder 8 cwt guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " b ...

break and the third gun would be mounted on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on b ...

Service

After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton- ...

. On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises HMS ''Attentive'' rammed and sank HMS ''Gala'' then damaged HMS ''Ribble''. In 1909/1910 she was assigned to China Station. On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed that all destroyer classes were to be designated by letters. The ships of the River class were assigned to the E class and after 30 September 1913, she was known as an E-class destroyer and had the letter ‘E’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel. In July 1914 she was on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

based at Hong Kong tendered to HMS ''Triumph''. She deployed with China Squadron to Qingdao to blockade the German base. After Japan entered the war on the side of the Entente Powers she returned to Hong Kong. With the fall of Qingdao and the sinking of the SMS ''Emden'', she was redeployed to the

5th Destroyer Flotilla The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingd ...

in the

British Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

in November 1914 accompanying ''Triumph'', to support the Dardanelles Campaign. On 25 April 1915 she was assigned to the 7th Squadron assigned to the

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

blockade. 5 July 1915 found her on the Smyrna Patrol enforcing the blockade of the Turkish Coast from Cape Kaba to Latitude 38^o30’E, 200 nautical miles including Smyrna. At this time she was based at Port Iero on the island of Lesbos. During March 1917 she provided escort for ships between

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Souda Souda ( el, Σούδα) is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...

. During April 1917 she was in dry dock at Malta for a refit. Following this in May 1917 she was based at

Mudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...

to patrol the Dardanelles. She remained in the Mediterranean until the end of the war. In 1919 she returned to home waters was paid off and laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 30 June 1920 she was sold to

Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery. I ...

of Sheffield for breaking at

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

. She was awarded the battle honour "Dardanelles 1915 - 1916" for her service.

References

Bibliography

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