The world premiere of 'The Final Journey' by Paul Lovatt-Cooper at the Black Dyke Festival in Leeds on Sunday afternoon (June 5th), commemorates to the very day 100 years ago, the sinking of HMS Hampshire.
Just days after she took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the ship set out on route to Archangel in North Russia carrying the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, who was to attend diplomatic negotiations with representatives of the Russian Tsar, Nicholas II.
However, on trying to return to safe anchorage near the Orkney Isles, she struck a German mine and sank within 15 minutes, with a catastrophic loss of life — including Kitchener himself.
Personal loss
The loss sent political reverberations around the world — as well as those of personal loss to the many communities from which the men came.
It also soon started a century of conspiracy theories that to this day have never been fully resolved. The story, how many men actually died, and who was actually responsible, still occupies historians.
Just 12 survivors
One thing is clear however: Just 12 men survived from between 650 and 800 on board.
One of those was Able Seaman Richard Simpson (above), who wrote this letter and his recollections of the final journey of HMS Hampshire to his mother soon after.
Dear Mother,
I cannot put 23 Mess on top of the letter now as the ship has gone to the bottom. We were at sea on Monday and about 8 o'clock at night there as a big explosion and all the lights went out, but happily it was daylight.
Well dear I suppose you thought I was gone, so I sent you a telegram to let you know I was all safe.
Well dear I was very lucky — only twelve of the 800 got ashore. We were about 3 miles off the shore when the ship blew up and it was the most terrible of sea I have ever seen — you could not get any boats into the water and if you had they would have been instantly swamped, so I stood by a big float along other 50 or 60 people, and when the order came we launched her.
We had the terrible 4 hours in the water you can imagine — seas mountain high washed over the top of us.
Anyway we started to drift towards the shore which we reached more dead men than alive. We had to swim the last few yards because it was all rocks and we were lucky to escape the rocks in which there were thousands, and we got ashore and climbed up the cliff after falling down 3 or 4 times.
We found a cottage belonging to a farmer of which there are about six. And it was from there that I am writing this letter.
The people are very kind to us giving us clothes, eggs, bed, everything we need. I forgot to tell you — out of the sixty that started 6 of us were alive when we reached the shore — the same with the other buoy. Only six out of the sixty survive here and that makes twelve.
We expect to leave Wednesday when this letter will be posted on the shore. Besides the house there are hundreds of dead bodies.
Well dear I am in the best of health and spirits — we lost everything as the ship went down in twenty minutes.
Well I expect to see you in a week's time or in a fortnight I will go to Barracks. I want you to keep this address for me as it is the people I am staying at.
Your loving son
Dick
We expect to leave Wednesday when this letter will be posted on the shore. Besides the house there are hundreds of dead bodies Able Seaman Richard Simpson
Lost
Able Seaman Richard Simpson soon returned to duty, but did not survive the First World War. He lost his life, aged 19, when the SS Thames was sunk by a German U Boat UC-63 on 14th August 1917.
His name is engraved on the Chatham Naval Memorial.
His surviving relatives, including trombone player Kevin Stewart, of Derwent Brass who has involved himself in extensive research to support the project, will hear the world premiere performed at Leeds Town Hall.
