William Charles Priday – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Indefatigable

 Stoker William Charles Priday – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Indefatigable

William Charles Priday was born in 1897 in Swansea, the son of George Harris Priday and Caroline Eagle, who had married in 1892 in Swansea.

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, the Priday family were living at 16 Hoo Street, St Thomas, Swansea. William’s father, George Priday, aged 30, worked as a General Labourer, while his wife Caroline, also 30 and born in Bristol, kept the home. Their children at the time were William, aged 4, and Bertram, aged 3. Also present in the household was Frederick Webber, aged 23, a relative of the family.

1911 Census

By 1911, the family had moved to 56 Danygraig Road, St Thomas, Swansea. William’s father, now listed as George Harris, was 40 and still working as a General Labourer; his wife Caroline, also 40, remained at home. Their children were William Charles, aged 14, employed as an Apprentice Railway Wagon Worker, and Bertram Thomas, aged 13, who was still attending school. The household also included Mary Ann Egale, aged 83, and Bertram Thomas Webber, aged 26, a nephew.

Military Service

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

William later served as a Stoker in the Royal Naval Reserve. According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, he lost his life on 31^st May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland, following the destruction of H.M.S. Indefatigable.

Loss of H.M.S. Indefatigable

H.M.S. Indefatigable

During the opening phase of the Battle of Jutland, the battlecruiser H.M.S. Indefatigable, commanded by Captain Charles Sowerby, engaged the German battlecruiser SMS Von der Tann. A German shell struck Indefatigable amidships, forcing her out of line. Moments later, another salvo hit her; one shell likely penetrated X turret, igniting the cordite charges and causing a flash explosion that spread to the aft magazines. It is also possible that a shell detonated the magazine directly.

The ship was enveloped in thick smoke. When it cleared, Indefatigable was sinking rapidly, stern first, with a heavy list to port. She went down within seconds, taking 1,017 of her crew with her. Only two men survived. Among the dead was Ordinary Seaman James Graham Oldham, one of the many lost in the catastrophic explosion that destroyed the ship almost instantly.

Commemoration

William Charles Priday
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

As he has no known grave, William Charles Priday is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours Royal Navy personnel lost at sea during the First World War. His name stands among those who gave their lives in one of the most devastating moments of the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval engagement of the war