William John Hopkins – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Vanguard

 Able Seaman William John Hopkins – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Vanguard

Early Life and Family Background

John Hopkins and Elizabeth Kate Williams
marraige certificate
Parish Church of Llangiwg

William John Hopkins was born in 1890 in Swansea, the son of John Hopkins and Elizabeth Kate Williams, who later married in 1895 at the Parish Church of Llangiwg. He grew up in a working-class mining community during a time when Swansea’s industrial growth shaped the lives of many families like his.

1901 Census

The 1901 Census is the only census in which William John appears. At this time, the family were living in Gendros, Swansea. His father John, aged 29, worked as a Coal Miner, while his mother Elizabeth K., aged 27 and originally from Carmarthenshire, cared for their young family. The children present were William J., aged 11; Edward, 6; Ivor, 3; and Elizabeth C., aged 1. This glimpse into the household shows William at an age when many boys were soon entering local industries, although he would later pursue a naval career instead.

Service in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

As a young man, William John Hopkins enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, serving as an Able Seaman aboard the battleship H.M.S. Vanguard. Built as part of the St. Vincent-class, Vanguard was a modern dreadnought battleship, representing the peak of British naval power during the early 20th century. She served throughout the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet, often stationed at Scapa Flow, the Royal Navy’s key northern base.

About H.M.S. Vanguard

H.M.S. Vanguard 

H.M.S. Vanguard was launched in 1909 and commissioned in 1910, armed with ten 12‑inch guns, displacing nearly 20,000 tons, and capable of over 21 knots. She served in numerous North Sea operations and was present at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Although she saw limited action there due to her position in the British line, Vanguard remained a vital part of the Home Fleet’s defensive strength.

Tragically, her fate was sealed not by enemy action but by an internal catastrophe. On the night of 9^th July 1917, while anchored at Scapa Flow, Vanguard was torn apart by a sudden series of magazine explosions. The blast was so violent that the ship sank almost instantly, giving the crew no chance to escape. The official inquiry concluded that the likely cause was the spontaneous ignition of deteriorated cordite charges stored in the magazine—an instability that had caused several fatal accidents in the Royal Navy during the war.

Out of the approximately 843 officers and men aboard, only two survived, making it one of the deadliest accidental explosions in British naval history. Debris was thrown high into the air, and the tragedy was witnessed across the anchorage. The wreck remains at Scapa Flow today as a designated war grave, protected in honour of the men who lost their lives.

Death and Commemoration

Able Seaman William John Hopkins lost his life on 9^th July 1917 in the Vanguard explosion. As he has no known grave, his name is recorded on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, among those sailors whose final resting place is the sea. His sacrifice, alongside that of more than 840 shipmates, remains a solemn reminder of the dangers faced by naval personnel even far from enemy fire