Henry Collingwood Farmer – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Sija

Lieutenant Henry Collingwood Farmer – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Sija

Henry Theodore Stabel Farmer and Annie Louise Aumônier marriage certificate St Peter’s Church, Hampstead

Henry Collingwood Farmer was born in 1905, in London, the son of Henry Theodore Stabel Farmer and Annie Louise Aumônier, who had married in 1899 at St Peter’s Church, Hampstead.

1911 Census – Somali Road, West Hampstead

1911 Census

By 1911, the Farmer family were living at 20 Somali Road, West Hampstead. Henry Theodore Stabel, aged 40, was recorded as a Journalist and Author, while his wife Annie Louisa, aged 37, managed the home. Their children were John Aumônier (10), Henry Collingwood (6), Joan Everard (4), and David Stabel (1). Also present were a servant, Amy Appleby (32), and a visitor, Kathleen Taylor (18).

1921 Census – Temple Fortune Lane, Golders Green

1921 Census

A decade later, the family were residing at 34 Temple Fortune Lane, Golders Green, NW11. Henry Theodore, now 50, continued his work as an Author, and Annie Louise, aged 47, kept the home. Their children were John Humoenier (20), employed as a Junior Draughtsman with Arthur Dockham Co. Ltd., Gas Engineers; Henry Collingwood (16); Joan Everard (14); and David Stahl (12), all still in education.

Marriage and 1939 Register – Dartford

Henry Collingwood Farmer and Kathleen Sylvia Armitage marriage certificate St John’s Church, Malden, Surrey

1939 Register

In 1932, Henry married Kathleen Sylvia Armitage at St John’s Church, Malden, Surrey. By the 1939 Register, the couple were living at Sherecroft, Dartford. Henry was recorded as a Chartered Architect, while Kathleen undertook the household duties.

Military Service – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

During the Second World War, Henry Collingwood Farmer served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, posted to H.M.S. Sija, a small auxiliary vessel attached to the Swansea Naval Base.

H.M.S. Sija and the Swansea Naval Base

H.M.S. Sija was one of the many small auxiliary craft employed by the Royal Navy to support harbour defence and coastal operations. Vessels of her type undertook patrols, escort duties, anti‑submarine vigilance, minesweeping support, and the transport of personnel and stores within port limits. Attached to the Swansea Naval Base, Sija formed part of the naval presence responsible for protecting Swansea’s docks, steelworks, and shipping lanes along the Bristol Channel. The base itself served as a local Royal Navy headquarters, coordinating harbour security, minesweeping flotillas, and naval movements in and out of the port. Because Swansea lacked a large naval barracks, crews of vessels like Sija were often billeted in civilian accommodation, placing naval personnel directly within the areas later devastated by the Three Nights Blitz.

Henry Collingwood Farmer
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Death in the Swansea Blitz – February 1941

Henry was killed during the Swansea Blitz, the devastating series of Luftwaffe raids that struck the town over 19–21 February 1941. He died on 21 February 1941, and his body was found on 25 February between the Mackworth Hotel and the Rose Hotel, both located in the heavily bomb‑damaged town centre. His death places him among the military personnel who lost their lives during Swansea’s most destructive wartime air raids.

Burial

Henry Collingwood Farmer was buried at Morriston Cemetery, where his grave stands among the Second World War servicemen commemorated in the district.