Orlando Fieldhouse, East Yorkshire Regiment.

 

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Cape Colony", "Transvaal" & "Wittebergen".
3709 Pte. O. Fieldhouse, East Yorkshire Regiment.

Orlando Fieldhouse, the fourth child of shoemaker William Fieldhouse and his wife Mary, was born in North Bierley near Bradford on 26^th May 1872 and baptised in Holy Trinity Church, Wibsey, Low Moor, on 21^st July of the same year. The Fieldhouse family, consisting of William (36), his wife Mary (38) and their seven children, Ada (17), Richard (13), Martha (11), Orlando (8), Joanna (7), Dan (5) and baby Frank (1 month) are recorded on the 1881 Census as living at Odsal, North Bierley, Bradford. According to the 1891 Census, the family were living at 9 Pearson Road, Odsal, and two more children, Albert (7) and Charlie (5), had been born. Orlando, now aged 18, was working as a weaving overlooker, “a skilled supervisor in textile mills, responsible for overseeing a section of power looms, ensuring they ran smoothly, fixing minor issues, checking fabric quality, and managing the workers (operatives) who fed the machines.”

However, working in a textile mill does not seem to have been wholly to Orlando’s liking and on 21^st May 1892 he enlisted into the army at the East Yorkshire Regiment’s Depot in Beverley, agreeing to serve 7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve. He already had experience of serving in the 2^nd Volunteer Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment. His Attestation Papers describe him as being just over 5’ 3” tall, 123lbs in weight with brown eyes, a fresh complexion and tattoos of an anchor and the name “Sarah” on his forearms. His religion is stated as Church of England.

Given the service number 3709, Orlando initially served with the 2^nd Battalion before transferring to the 1^st Battalion on 14^th March 1893 for a two-year period of foreign service in Egypt. He received his 1^st Good Conduct Pay on 21^st May 1894 and was appointed Lance Corporal on 10^th July of the same year. He returned to England in April 1895 and on 12^th December was transferred back to the 2^nd Battalion. He continued to make progress in his army career, obtaining his 3^rd Class Certificate of Education in April 1896, being promoted Corporal on 12^th May 1896 and being awarded his 2^nd Class Certificate of Education in December. Unfortunately, in the following year, things did not go so well. On 16^th March 1897, Orlando was arrested and awaiting trial for an unspecified misdemeanour. He was tried, reduced to Private, and returned to duty eight days later. Happily, things seem to have improved after this as he was again awarded Good Conduct Pay on 24^th September 1897 and there were no further problems till he was transferred to the Army Reserve on 20^th May 1899.

However, Orlando did not have much time to enjoy civilian life as, following the outbreak of war with the Boers, he was recalled to the army just 7 months later. He served in South Africa with the 2^nd Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment from 14^th March 1900 till 26^th August 1902, thus earning the Queen’s South Africa Medal featured here and also a King’s South Africa Medal with clasps “South Africa 1901” and “South Africa 1902”. For almost all of their time in South Africa, the East Yorkshires operated in the north-east of the Orange River Colony. The only noteworthy action the Battalion took part in was at Biddulphsberg on 29^th May 1900 although they were not heavily engaged, the brunt of the fighting being borne by the 2^nd Grenadier Guards, but they had plenty of skirmishing and harassing work after this.

Returning to England, Orlando was discharged from the army and seems to have returned to his job as a weaving overlooker. The 1911 Census records him, now aged 38, as again living with his parents and three brothers at 1120 Truncliffe, Odsal, Bradford. Sadly, both Orlando’s parents died early in 1914, his father’s funeral taking place on 5^th February and his mother’s just 9 days later, both being buried at Holy Trinity Church, Wibsey, Low Moor, where Orlando had been baptised.

Orlando Fieldhouse does not appear to have served in the First World War. His entry on the 1921 Census includes him with the household of Arthur Jackson, his brother-in-law, at 1116 Manchester Road and names his employer as Briggs Pollitt & Co of Upper Castle Street, Bradford. Towards the end of his life, Orlando lived at 861 Manchester Road, Bradford. He died in St Luke’s Hospital at the age of 58 on 10^th March 1931 and was buried four days later. His worldly goods, amounting to £235 16s 10d, were left to his younger brother Albert.

 

The Last Survivor of the K.13 Disaster.

British War Medal 1914 - 1920.
J.44055 J. Swift. Tel. R.N.

Joseph Swift, the son of George and Fannie Swift, was born on 15th March 1899 at Dalziel, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The nine members of the family - George (42), Fannie (36), John (20), Hannah (18), Elizabeth (16), Mary Ann (14), George Ernest (7), Charlotte (4) and Joseph (2) -  are recorded on the 1901 Census as living at 76 Brandon Street, Motherwell. George Swift was listed on the 1891 Census as a widower and living at 14 Warson Street, Hamilton, Dalziel, with five of his children.  George Ernest, Charlotte and Joseph were the children of his second marriage to Fannie.

In April 1904, the parents and their seven younger children took a 2nd class cabin on the S.S. Laurentian,  which was embarking on a voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and New York. The family were contracted to land at the former port with their final destination being New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

At some point, Joseph must have returned to the United Kingdom because in September 1915 he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. His Service Record describes him as having black hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. His occupation is given as a clerk. His initial service was at H.M.S. Ganges, a shore base and boys' training establishment. Then, in July 1916, he joined H.M.S. Maidstone, which had led the 8th Submarine Flotilla to its war station at Harwich in the 1914 mobilisation and remained the principal depot ship for the offensive submarine force at Harwich for the duration of the war. In September 1916, Joseph, now rated as a Boy Telegraphist, transferred to H.M.S. Dolphin, another submarine depot ship.

On 29th January 1917, at Gareloch in the west of Scotland, Submarine K13, which had been built by the Fairfield Company at their Govan shipyard, was ready to undergo her final sea trials before being formally taken into the Royal Navy. This fatal day was to see Britain's worst submarine disaster with 32 men losing their lives and a 57 hour struggle to rescue the survivors.

Submarine K13 would normally have had a complement of 6 officers and 55 ratings but on this day, there were 80 men on board. These included 53 Royal Navy men, the youngest of whom was 17-year-old Boy Telegraphist Joseph Swift. The others were 14 employees from the Fairfield engine and shipyard depots, 5 Admiralty officials, 5 sub-contractors, a River Clyde pilot and Commander Francis Herbert Goodhart DSO and Engineering Officer Lieutenant Leslie Rideal, both of whom were from the crew of Submarine K14 and were aboard as observers.

As the submarine's sea trials began and the vessel slipped beneath the waters of the Gareloch, water began flooding into the engine room. This was due to the engine room ventilators not being fully closed. Lieutenant Commander Godfrey Herbert gave orders to close the watertight doors and blow the ballast tanks in an attempt to return to the surface but the vessel continued to sink, coming to rest on the bed of the Gareloch. The rear section was completely flooded and over 30 men were drowned there. Anyone who wants to read the details of this tragedy and how the 44 men who managed to survive the next 57 hours were finally rescued can find a full account here and here.

After this nightmarish experience, Joseph Swift could be forgiven had he never wanted to see the inside of another submarine but in March 1917, he was back with H.M.S. Maidstone and later served in Submarine E41. This was another "unlucky" vessel and in August 1916 had been involved in a collision and subsequent sinking in which 16 crew members had died. Joseph stayed with E41 until 1919 and was invalided from the service the following year, having been issued with a Silver War Badge.

Submarine K13 was raised on 15th March 1917, refurbished and taken into the service as Submarine K22. Never again would the Admiralty give a submarine the "unlucky" number 13.

In later life, Joseph Swift never forgot his shipmates who had died in Submarine K13 and the local Motherwell paper often reported on his annual pilgrimage to the Gareloch on the anniversary of the tragedy. By the mid 1970s, only two survivors were still alive and on 11th February 1977, the Motherwell Times reported that: Ill health prevented Mr Joseph Swift, Anderson Street, from journeying to a cemetery on the banks of the River Clyde at Gareloch last week to pay silent tribute to the memory of 32 men who were drowned 60 years ago as the result of a submarine disaster.

The following year, on 14th July 1978, the Motherwell Times reported as follows:

Submarine Survivor Dies

The last survivor of the ill-fated submarine K-13, which sank in 50 feet of water in 1917, has died. Motherwell man, Joe Swift, who was a boy telegraphist aboard the vessel, died on Thursday morning, aged 78.

Until recently, Mr Swift, who lived in McClurg Court, had undertaken a yearly pilgrimage to Gareloch, to visit the graves of his colleagues. Mr Swift was a member of Motherwell United Services Club and was a civil servant for 47 years. He served in Motherwell Tax Office.