Stoker 1st Class Albert Henry Barnes
| Date of Birth | 12 September 1893 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 22 |
| Date of Death | 31/05/1916 |
| Service Number | K/16819 |
| Military Service | HMS Queen Mary, Royal Navy |
| Merton Address | 11 Heaton Road, Mitcham, Surrey |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham War Memorial |
Additional Information
Albert Henry who was born on the 12th September in 1893 according to naval records was the eldest son of Arthur Alfred Barnes and Mary Clara Thompson. His father Arthur, who was a plumber at the time of his marriage on 2nd November in 1893.
By 1901, the Barnes family resided at 33 Scales Road, Tottenham, Arthur and Mary had 2 children, Albert and 11-month-old Ernest, Arthur was now employed as a house decorator/painter.
According to the 1911 Census, Arthur and Mary had been married for 17 years, Mary had given birth to six children but only five children had survived. Their son Frederick had died in infancy. Sixteen-year-old Albert Henry was now employed as a grocery assistant.
Albert joined the Royal navy on 7th November 1912, aged 19. After completing initial training including parade drills, naval history and housekeeping drills, he was assigned to the training ship HMS Victory II as a Stoker 2nd Class. This was a land based ship for stokers and engine artificers based in Portsmouth. He served for a short while on the HMS Renown, which was another stoker’s training ship, and the HMS Albermarle. In September 1913 he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class and transferred to the battle cruiser, HMS Queen Mary, where he remained. Stokers feed coal to the boilers and rank from Stoker 2nd Class, then 1st Class, then Petty Officer and Chief Petty Officer.
During the First World War, while serving as a stoker on HMS Queen Mary, he was killed in action at the Battle of Jutland on the 31st May 1916 when the ship was hit twice by the German battlecruiser Derfflinger during the early part of the battle and her magazines exploded shortly afterwards, sinking the ship. 0f the crew of 1,289, there were only 20 survivors. Albert Henry’s body was never recovered. He is remembered at the Portsmouth War Memorial also on the Mitcham War memorial.
His family had moved to the Mitcham area by 1918, when Albert’s brother Ernest enlisted with the Middlesex Regiment in June 1918. He survived the war, but may not have seen action. The family continued to live in Mitcham until at least 1937.