1915 Star. Dulson. Aboard HMS Audacious at time of sinking. Dudley. ARP during WWII.

Correctly named 302078 EH Dulson Mech RN

Ernest Henry was born to Mattew & Annie in May 1884, Dudley, Worcs.

He enlisted for service in 1902. His occupation at the time was that of an engine cleaner.

By 1911, he was based at the China Station aboard the Flagship HMS Minotaur.

He was serving aboard HMS Audacious from February 1914 until its sinking in October 1914.

HMS Audacious sinking:

Repeated reports of submarines in Scapa Flow led Jellicoe to conclude that the defences there were inadequate and he ordered that the Grand Fleet be dispersed to other bases until the defences were reinforced. On 16 October, the 2nd Battle Squadron was sent to Loch na Keal on the western coast of Scotland.

Audacious struck a mine at 08:45, laid a few days earlier by the German auxiliary minelayer SS Berlin. Captain Cecil Dampier, thinking that his ship had been torpedoed, hoisted the submarine warning; in accordance with instructions the other dreadnoughts departed the area, leaving the smaller ships behind to render assistance.

Having intercepted the stricken dreadnought’s distress calls, the White Star ocean liner RMS Olympic arrived on the scene.

Just as HMS Exmouth was coming up on the group at 20:45, Audacious heeled sharply, paused, and then capsized. She floated upside down with the bow raised until 21:00, when an explosion occurred that threw wreckage 300 feet into the air, followed by two more. The explosion appeared to come from the area of ‘B’ magazine and was probably caused by one or more high-explosive shells falling from their racks and exploding, then igniting the cordite in the magazine. A piece of armour plate flew 800 yards and killed a petty officer on Liverpool. This was the only casualty in connection with the sinking.

Aftermath:

Admiral Jellicoe immediately proposed that the sinking be kept a secret, to which the Board of Admiralty and the British Cabinet agreed, an act open to ridicule later on. For the rest of the war, Audacious’ name remained on all public lists of ship movements and activities. The many Americans on board Olympic were beyond British jurisdiction and discussed the sinking. Many photos, and even one moving picture, had been taken. By 19 November, the loss of the ship was accepted in Germany. Jellicoe’s opposite number in Germany, Reinhard Scheer, wrote after the war, “In the case of the Audacious we approve of the English attitude of not revealing a weakness to the enemy, because accurate information about the other side’s strength has a decisive effect on the decisions taken.”

On 14 November 1918, shortly after the war ended, a notice officially announcing the loss appeared in The Times:

H.M.S. Audacious.
A Delayed Announcement.

The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement:—
H.M.S. Audacious sank after striking a mine off the North Irish coast on October 27, 1914.
This was kept secret at the urgent request of the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet, and the Press loyally refrained from giving it any publicity.

Ernest then was posted to HMS Victory and around the time of The Battle of Jutland,to HMS Royal Sovereign.

On 30 May 1916, three weeks after her commissioning, Royal Sovereign was present in Scapa Flow when the fleet commander, Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the Grand Fleet to sea. Jellicoe purposely left Royal Sovereign behind in port due to the inexperience of her crew; causing her to miss the Battle of Jutland the following day.

Still serving in 1921, most likely aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth or at Victory.

He had married Edith Draper in 1913.

In 1939, we see him working as a school engineer at Wycombe Abbey School and he is also confirmed as a member of the ARP.

He died in 1970.

The medal retains its original silk ribbon.