James Vanstone – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Queen Mary

Stoker James Vanstone – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Queen Mary

Early Life

James Vanstone

James Vanstone was born in 1894 in Swansea, the son of William Vanstone and Mary Ellen Evans.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, James’s mother, Mary Ellen, had remarried the previous year to Thomas Sullivan. The family were living at 278 Carmarthen Road, Swansea. The census records Mary Ellen, aged 30, as a “widow,” and the household included her children Sarah E. Vanstone (9), James Vanstone (7), and Mary Vanstone (5). Also present were her stepson Michael J. Sullivan (7) and her younger children Catherine Sullivan (2) and Jennie Sullivan (2 weeks).

Youth

Court Records

In 1910, James appeared before the court charged with stealing sweets and stair rods.

 

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, he was recorded as an inmate at the Borstal Institution, Borstal, Rochester, Kent, aged 17, with his occupation listed as selling papers.

Marriage

In 1915, James married Elizabeth J. Davies.

Naval Service

James later enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve, serving as a Stoker—a physically demanding role working deep in the ship’s boiler rooms. According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Stoker James Vanstone lost his life during the sinking of H.M.S. Queen Mary at the Battle of Jutland on 31^st May 1916.

H.M.S. Queen Mary

H.M.S. Queen Mary

H.M.S. Queen Mary was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy before the First World War. Constructed by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow, she was laid down on 6^th March 1911, launched on 20 March 1912, and completed in August 1913. Designed for speed and heavy firepower, she displaced over 26,000 tons, carried eight 13.5‑inch guns, and could reach 28 knots. She served with the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet and took part in early North Sea operations, including the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914.

Sinking at the Battle of Jutland

On 31^st May 1916, during the opening stages of the Battle of Jutland, Queen Mary engaged German battlecruisers as part of Admiral Beatty’s force. At approximately 4:26 p.m., she was struck by heavy shells from SMS Derfflinger, triggering devastating magazine explosions. The ship broke apart and sank within seconds, resulting in the loss of 1,266 of her crew of 1,286—one of the worst British naval losses of the war. Her wreck now lies on the floor of the North Sea and is protected under the Protection of Military Remains Act.

Death and Commemoration

James Vanstone
Chatham Naval Memorial, Chatham
credit - findagrave

Stoker James Vanstone was among those lost when Queen Mary exploded and sank. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, which honours Royal Navy personnel who died at sea during the First World War.

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records also note that James was married to Ada Elizabeth, who later remarried and lived at 7 Davies Terrace, Fforest-fach, Swansea