Brothers Harry Dean and James Robert Dean - Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Indefatigable

Brothers Stokers Harry Dean and James Robert Dean - Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Indefatigable

Family Background and Early Life

Harry Dean

Thomas Dean and Mary Elizabeth Newcombe
marriage certificate
All Saints’ Church, Llansamlet, Swansea

Harry Dean was born in 1893 in Swansea, the youngest son of Thomas Dean and Mary Elizabeth Newcombe, who were married in 1876 at All Saints’ Church, Llansamlet, Swansea.

1901 Census

The Dean family were living at 1 Canaan Row, Kilvey, Swansea, at the time of the 1901 Census. Thomas Dean (51), born in Wiltshire, was employed as a caterer at the copper works, while his wife Mary Elizabeth (48) managed the household. Their children were George (22), a labourer at the copper mill; James Richard (20), a railway labourer; David John (17), a tinsmith; William Newcombe (14), a grocer’s porter; and Harry who was recorded Henry (8).

1911 Census

Thomas Dean died in 1904, and by the 1911 Census the family had moved to 10 Windmill Street, Swansea. Mary Elizabeth Dean (56) was recorded as a boarding house keeper, and the only child still living at home was Harry (18), who was employed as a labourer. Two boarders, Frederick Ramsell (22) and George Hobbs (22), were also resident.

James Robert Deane

James Robert Dean and Ellen Jane Drew
marriage certificate
All Saints’ Church, Llansamlet, Swansea

Meanwhile, in 1906, James Robert married Ellen Jane Drew, at All Saints’ Church, Llansamlet, Swansea.

1911 Census

At the time of the 1911 Census, they were residing at 6 Windmill Street, Swansea.

James Robert, 30, a Dust Destructor Stoker, and his wife, Ellen Jane, 31.  Their two children were Iris, 2, and Hayden 10 months old.

Also present were two boarders, Harold John Johnson, 19, and Thomas Owens, 37.

Naval Service

H.M.S. Indefatigable

Harry Dean entered wartime service with the Royal Naval Reserve and was rated as a Stoker, a physically demanding role responsible for maintaining steam pressure by feeding coal into the ship’s boilers. Stokers worked in extreme heat and hazardous conditions deep below decks, particularly vulnerable during combat.

He was serving aboard H.M.S. Indefatigable at the time of her loss.

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

H.M.S. Indefatigable was an armoured cruiser serving with the 1^st Cruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland on 31^st May 1916, the largest naval engagement of the First World War.

During the opening phase of the battle in the North Sea, Indefatigable engaged German battlecruisers under heavy and accurate fire. At approximately 4:03 pm, she was struck by shells fired by the German battlecruiser Von der Tann. A catastrophic internal explosion followed, causing the ship to break in two and sink rapidly.

The loss was devastating: 1,017 officers and men were killed, with only two survivors. Among those who perished was Stoker Harry Dean, who lost his life when the ship was destroyed.

Death and Commemoration

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Harry Dean and James Robert Dean
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

Both Harry and James Robert Dean were killed in action on 31^st May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland. With no known grave, Harry' sdeath is recorded in the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records. They are both commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours members of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve who lost their lives at sea during the First World War.