Harold Stanley Cope – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Indefatigable

Able Seaman Harold Stanley Cope – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Indefatigable

Harold Stanley Cope was born in 1896 in Liverpool, the son of Walter Cope and Ann Cope.

Family Background and Early Life

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Cope family were residing at 147 Prescot Road, Fairfield, St John the Divine, West Derby. Walter Cope (33), born in London, was employed as a photographic printer, while his wife Ann (33), also London-born, managed the household. Their children were Harold Stanley (5) and Gladys May (10 months). Also living in the household was Walter’s widowed mother, Caroline Cope (72).

1911 Census

By 1911, Harold Stanley was living away from home as a boarder at the residence of William and Mary Jones in Derwen Road, Ystradgynlais. At this time, he was recorded as an apprentice electrical engineer, indicating early technical training that would later prove useful in naval service.

Naval Service

Royal Navy Records

Royal Navy service records show that Harold enlisted in the Royal Navy in the latter part of 1911, entering service several years before the outbreak of the First World War. He later served as an Able Seaman aboard H.M.S. Indefatigable.

H.M.S. Indefatigable and the Battle of Jutland

H.M.S. Indefatigable

H.M.S. Indefatigable was an armoured cruiser serving with the 1^st Cruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland on 31^st May 1916, the largest naval engagement of the First World War. During the opening stages of the battle in the North Sea, she engaged German battlecruisers under intense and accurate enemy fire. At approximately 4:03 pm, Indefatigable was struck by heavy-calibre shells fired by the German battlecruiser Von der Tann. A catastrophic internal explosion followed, breaking the ship in two. She sank rapidly with the loss of 1,017 officers and men, with only two survivors.

Able Seaman Harold Stanley Cope was among those who lost their lives when the ship was destroyed on 31^st May 1916.

Death and Commemoration

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Harold’s death is recorded in the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, which confirm that he was killed during the Battle of Jutland. At the time these records were compiled, his parents were recorded as residing at Glentworth, Carnglas Road, Sketty, Swansea.

Harold Stanley Cope
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

With no known grave, Harold Stanley Cope is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours sailors of the Royal Navy who lost their lives at sea during the First World War.