John James Tulip – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Good Hope

Stoker 1^st Class John James Tulip – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Good Hope

Early Life

John James Tulip was born in 1890 in Gateshead, County Durham, the son of Leonard Coxon Tulip and Sarah Drennen, who were married in 1888 at Newcastle upon Tyne.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Tulip family were living at 66 Chaucer Street, Gateshead. Leonard, aged 32, worked as a Cartman, while his wife Sarah, aged 26, cared for their home and their young son John James, then aged 1.

1901 Census

Sarah Tulip died in 1900, and by the 1901 Census, Leonard had remarried to Hannah Charlton. The family were then living at 44 St. James Square, Gateshead. Leonard, aged 42, was employed as a Chemist Cartman, and Hannah, aged 24, was stepmother to his growing family. The children in the household were John J. (11), Elizabeth (9), Thomas William (6), Leonard (4), and Mabel (1).

Naval Service

John James Tulip
Navy Records

John enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1908. 

1911 Census

By the time of the 1911 Census, he was serving as a Stoker 1^st Class. Stokers performed some of the hardest physical labour aboard ship, working deep in the engine rooms to keep the boilers running.

H.M.S. Good Hope

John served aboard H.M.S. Good Hope, an armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy. On 1^st November 1914, Good Hope formed part of a British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock during the Battle of Coronel, fought off the coast of central Chile. The British force was heavily outmatched by the German East Asia Squadron, commanded by Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee, whose ships possessed superior speed, armour, and gunnery.

The battle took place in the late afternoon and evening, with the setting sun silhouetting the British ships and giving the Germans a decisive tactical advantage. Good Hope was repeatedly struck by accurate German fire, and one shell penetrated her forward magazine, causing a catastrophic explosion. The ship sank with the loss of all hands.

Death and Commemoration

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

John James Tulip
Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Portsmouth
credit - findagrave

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Stoker 1st Class John James Tulip was among the more than 1,600 British officers and men killed in the action. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, which honours Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel who lost their lives at sea during the First World War.

The same records also state that John was married to Ada Elizabeth, who later remarried and was living at 7 Davies Terrace, Fforest-fach, Swansea