The Mary Rose Museum is dedicated to the crew of the Mary Rose (1510). It was built early on in Henry VIII’s reign and launched in 1511. It sunk during an engagement with the French in 1545.
However, the wider collection held by the Mary Rose Trust includes material relating to the other ships that share the name and legacy. There have been nine naval ships called “Mary Rose”. The seventh, HMS Mary Rose (1915), shared a similar fate to its Tudor namesake during World War I.
Photo of the crew of HMS Mary Rose c. 1916 – Courtesy of the authors of The Cowkeeper’s Wish
She was built in what was the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Tyne and Wear and was among the first Admiralty M-Class Destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched on 8th October 1915. Many of her crew saw action during the Battle of Jutland (31st May-1st June 1916) where she formed part of the 2nd Half-Flotilla of The British Grand Fleet.
HMS Mary Rose cap tally – PORMR E452/4
On 17th October 1917, HMS Mary Rose, captained by Lieutenant Commander Charles Leonard Fox, was sunk in the North Sea during an engagement with two vastly superior light cruisers of the Imperial German Navy (SMS Brummer and SMS Bremse). She and her sister ship, HMS Strongbow (captained by Lt. Commander Edward Brooke), were protecting a convoy of twelve merchant ships running between Lerwick in the Shetland Islands and Norway. HMS Mary Rose was the lead vessel of the convoy but turned about to respond to the assault on HMS Strongbow. Both Mary Rose and Strongbow were outgunned and unable to respond to the range of the German artillery. The captains ordered for their ships to be scuttled. Nine of the twelve merchant ships were also sunk during the engagement.
Only five of the HMS Mary Rose crew survived. Fox went down with the ship – his last words reportedly being “God bless my heart, lads, get her going again we’re not done yet”. He was only 33 years old.
Daily Sketch, Friday 15th February 1918 – John Frost Newspapers / Alamy Stock Photo
Newspapers like the Daily Sketch reported on the courageous acts of Leonard Fox and his crew in facing a superior enemy. Some made comparisons to the heroic actions of Sir Richard Grenville who had led his ship, Revenge, into a much larger Spanish fleet off the Azores in 1591. Sir Richard Grenville was the son and heir of Sir Roger Grenville who was one of the senior officers of the Tudor Mary Rose in 1545 when she sank.
The newspaper also has a photo of Fox’s two children, Eleanor and Anthony.
This letter was sent by Leonard to his wife, Eve, only a few weeks before the fateful battle in which he lost his life. Within it, he comments on passing some of his free time by fishing and contemplating going ashore to explore the town. He lovingly signs off by asking his wife to –
Give my love to the two darlings and a great kiss and I give you such a great hug. God bless you all.
All my love,
Your very own old Leonard
These objects and their stories can be seen as part of a temporary showcase display at the Mary Rose Museum.
HMS Mary Rose – a temporary exhibition
