THE chaplain of HMS Kent found room in his Christian heart to praise the Germans his crew had just defeated in battle.

Former Oxford schoolboy Norman Kent said the crew of the Nurnberg had “displayed splendid courage” during their battle in the South Atlantic on Tuesday, December 8, 1914.

As we recalled last week, HMS Kent chased and sank the German cruiser 180 miles off the Falkland Islands. Only seven of the 2,500-strong German crew survived. HMS Kent lost six crewmen.

It is thought the Germans intended to take the islands and use them as a coaling base. But they were taken by surprise when they saw the size of the British fleet. All but two of the German ships were destroyed.

A copy of Mr Kent’s account of the battle, which was published in the City of Oxford High School magazine in 1915, has been sent to Memory Lane by Alan Trinder, of Wantage.

Memory Lane this week

Mr Kent wrote: “The German guns outranged ours, but their shell fire was nothing like as effective. They were game to the end and when the ship went down, a man was seen waving a German flag, an act which was as fine as anything I have heard of.

“When they saw us, they piled on all steam to get away and but for the fact that it was an exceptionally beautiful day, we would have lost them.

“As it was, they could be clearly seen the whole time, but they gave us a good run for our money.”

After the battle, HMS Kent limped back to the Falklands with its wireless equipment “shot away”, little coal and no wood for fuel and with a big hole about two feet square just above the water line.

“We arrived with less than 50 tons of coal in our bunkers at 3pm on Wednesday, December 9. We were the only ship to take on and sink a German ship by ourselves. We got a tremendous reception from the other ships in the squadron and a very welcome message of ‘Well done, Kent’ from the Admiral.

“We buried our shipmates on Friday, December 11. I conducted the service. The Cathedral was full. A large number of wreaths were given by local residents. After the service, the marines fired a couple of volleys at the graveside and the Last Post was sounded by the buglers. I have never attended a more impressive service.”

Mr Kent was convinced that God had played a part in the British success that day, “stretching out to protect the weak against the strong, to assist us in our task of preserving the independence of little Belgium”.

He wrote: “There can be little doubt that the Germans had no knowledge of our presence in the Falklands – it appears they had been told there was only one ship there.

“We arrived at midday on Monday and by Tuesday night the whole squadron would have gone. On any other day, the Germans would have had an easy task.

“On Tuesday, the sun shone brightly so the smoke of the German ships could be seen at a great distance.

“Since Wednesday, it has rained every day and there has been a haze in which we should have lost them. It seems a miracle that our ships were not sunk or badly damaged. We have 32 holes on our starboard side, some nearly two feet square. If we had been full of coal or the sea rough, it would have made us unseaworthy, so near was it to the waterline.”

  • Norman Kent left Oxford High School in 1898, studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and became a priest in 1912. He was awarded an OBE (Military) in 1919 and remained a chaplain with the Royal Navy until 1936. He was rector at Highclere, on the Berkshire-Hampshire border, from 1938 to 1952. He died in October 1952.


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