John Hoyland

"HMS Good Hope"

The "Good Hope" had been selected as the flagship of Rear Admiral Cradock for the mission to seek out a German squadron under the command of Graf Spee. It was the 1st November 1914 and the preparation was advanced for what was to be the battle of Coronal. Their position was 300 miles off the Chile coast in the South Pacific Ocean and they were accompanied by the "Glasgow', "Monmouth" and "Otranto". In hindsight, only the "Glasgow' could be regarded as capable of facing the more modern and faster German flotilla consisting of the "Scharnhorst", " Gneisenau"," Leipzig" and "Dresden".
At 1930hrs, the two forces drew to just half a mile apart, the sun was setting low in the sky behind the British ships, silhouetting their outline and giving the Germans the advantage they firing the opening salvo. A heavy battle followed and by 19.50 hrs. the "Good Hope" suffered a magazine explosion and the crippled ship drifted out of sight and sank with no survivors.
It was the first British defeat for over a century with the loss of two armoured cruisers and 1,600 crew. The enemy suffered minimal casualties; two hits to the "Scharnhorst" and four hits and three wounded onboard the "Greisenau".
Two of the casualties of the "Good Hope" are remembered on their family headstones in Burngreave Cemetery, Stoker 1st Class Frank Clay, and Leading Seaman John Hoyland, they are also listed on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.


Burngreave Cemetery


 

 

 

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