ID: OOD_005 / Edwin Sparrow

TitleAnthony Driffield Seabrook - lost on HMS RAWALPINDI
Abstract

Anthony Driffield Seabrook

SEABROOK Anthony Driffield. Acting Sub Lieutenant: Royal Naval Reserve: H.M.S. Rawalpindi: Age: 21: Date of Death: 23/11/1939. He had 2 uncles Edmund and Francis Seabrook both killed in action with the Essex Yeomanry. They were both buried in the same grave on 13 May 1915.

He was the son of Joseph Driffield Seabrook and Nora Seabrook, of Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex. His grandfather operated barges out of Tollesbury. They were the "stackies": - "Pride of Essex" & "D'Arcy Defender". The "stackies" took fodder to London & backhauled manure from the stables/ street sweepings from the City. They were sailed by a man, a boy & a dog. The boy sat on top of the haystack on deck giving instructions to the man at the helm & the dog dealt with the brats. Anthony was a member of the Royal Naval Reserve.

He lived at Wycke farm on the border with Tollesbury. He attended Maldon Grammar school & did his naval training at HMS Worcester. He was at HMS Worcester as a 16 year old.

Seabrook brothers

Here he is seen pre-war with his brothers Brian on the left & Francis in the middle. His father died during the war & his brothers carried on running the farm.

HMS WORCESTER

Thames Nautical Training College, HMS WORCESTER

After the introduction of competency examinations in 1851 it became clear that there was a need for pre-sea training for officers in the Royal and merchant services. A training ship already existed on the Mersey called the "Conway", so William Bullivant, a London merchant and Richard Green, a Blackwall shipbuilder, proposed a similar vessel for the Thames. By 1861 the Admiralty had agreed to lend the "Worcester", a 50-gun frigate, as a training ship. The Thames Marine Officer Training School was opened the following year with 18 cadets. Several vessels succeeded her, but they all retained the name "Worcester". The ship was initially stationed at Blackwall Reach, but was moved to Erith and then Greenhithe in 1871. By 1920 the College had about 200 cadets and Ingress Abbey was purchased providing a permanent shore base. It had offices, a sick room, laundry, playing fields and a swimming pool. In 1938 the CUTTY SARK was acquired by the College and berthed alongside the WORCESTER. She was used as a boating station until she was given to the "Cutty Sark Preservation Society" in 1953. The College closed in 1968 and Ingress Abbey became the site of the Merchant Navy College, which itself closed twenty years later.

The cadets were regularly drilled in various exercises - here they can be seen manning the yards. In the summer, they would work aloft at sail drill, and here they are showing their skills to an audience. Other exercises included rope work, reading a compass, and physical drill, including cutlass exercise.

The Story of the WORCESTER

1939-45 War Star 1939-45 War Star 1939-45 War Star

1939-45 War Star; Atlantic Star; 1939-45 War Medal

Liverpool Naval Memorial

Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 1, Column 2. Memorial: LIVERPOOL NAVAL MEMORIAL. He is also commemorated on the Tolleshunt D'Arcy War Memorial

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The loss of HMS RAWALPINDI

AuthorEdwin Sparrow
SourceMersea Museum
IDOOD_005