HMS ''Welland'' was a Yarrow-built River-class destroyer 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 Source (river), rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally nort ...

that drains into

the Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

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 (ship), 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 t ...

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 bo ...

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-o ...

. 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 1 ...

based at Hong Kong tendered to HMS ''Triumph''. She deployed with China Squadron to

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

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 from 1910 to 1942 and again from 1947 to 1951. History The flotilla was formed in February 1910 and disbanded in 1942. Its first commander ...

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 ...

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 ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

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, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

Souda Souda () 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 . It is an imp ...

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

Mudros Moudros () 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 eastern peninsula o ...

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, business primarily working steel, engineering and cement. It began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture ...

of Sheffield for breaking at Preston. She was awarded the battle honour "Dardanelles 1915 - 1916" for her service.

References

Bibliography

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