HMY ''Kethailes'' was a

steam yacht A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts. Origin of the name The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...

that was launched in 1903 as a private pleasure craft and commissioned into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1914. She was sunk in a collision in 1917 with the loss of 17 of her crew.

Private yacht

St Clare John Byrne St Clare John Byrne (1831-1915) was a British naval architect, who specialized in the design of luxury yachts during the late Victorian and early Edwardian period. Family background His father, Charles Holtzendorf Byrne (1781-1853), was an Irish ...

designed the yacht for William Johnston of Liverpool.

Richardson, Duck and Company Richardson, Duck and Company was a shipbuilding company in Thornaby-on-Tees, England that traded between 1855 and 1925. History The yard was founded as the South Stockton Iron Ship Building Co in 1852. Its premises were the former yard of engine ...

built her at

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

, County Durham, England. She was launched on 11 April 1903. Johnston invented her name by concatenating letters from the names of his four daughters: Kathleen, Ethel, Aileen and Estele.

Naval service

When

World War I 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 ...

began in 1914 the Royal Navy needed more ships. On 24 September 1914 Johnston voluntarily handed over the yacht (later receiving financial compensation) to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

, for use as an Armed Naval Auxiliary. She was commissioned as

Armed Yacht An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels ...

No. 118032 in the Yacht Patrol. She patrolled the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, then was transferred to the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. On 28 September 1917 ''Kethailes'' was first-on-scene and assisted the

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

''William Middleton'', which had hit a mine laid by . Two ratings were killed. The Commanding Officer, Lt Comdr Lane RNR and his crew were commended for preventing ''William Middleton'' from sinking.

Loss

On 11 October 1917 the

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

'' accidentally rammed ''Kethailes'' in the Irish Sea near the Blackwater Lightship, which marks the Blackwater Bank off the east coast of

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

in Ireland. 17 of ''Kethailes''s crew were killed. ''Leicestershire'' and the ''P.44'' rescued survivors, including her commander, and they were landed at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The dead were lost at sea. Several bodies were subsequently washed ashore on the Welsh coast and were buried in local churchyards. In July 2022 CWGC accepted identification research of Able Seaman Frederick Dyer, previously buried as an unknown sailor in a communal grave in the Churchyard of St Matthew Borth, Dyfed.

References

1903 ships Individual yachts Maritime incidents in 1917 Shipwrecks of Ireland Ships built on the River Tees Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I naval ships of the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the Irish Sea 1917 disasters in the United Kingdom {{UK-aux-ship-stub