Three: Lieutenant L. H. White, Royal Navy, who was severely wounded at the battle of Dogger...

Three: Lieutenant L. H. White, Royal Navy, who was severely wounded at the battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915 and then killed in the explosion that ripped through H.M.S. Natal in Cromarty harbour at the end of the same year 1914-15 Star (Lieut. L. H. White, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. L. H. White. R.N.) extremely fine (3) £400-£500 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Leonard Hale White was born in Harley Street, London on 7 January 1890, the son of a physician. Educated at Bradfield College and thence as a Cadet in Britannia, he was appointed a Sub-Lieutenant in March 1909 and advanced to Lieutenant in June 1910. In the period leading up to the Great War he enjoyed a spate of seagoing appointments, among them H.M.S. Balmoral Castle at the time of the Duke of Connaught’s visit to South Africa. He was however serving in his first command, the torpedo boat H.M.S. Panther, on the outbreak of hostilities. In September 1914, White removed to the battle cruiser Tiger and he was consequently present at the battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, when her eight 13.5-inch guns did great execution, not least in a protracted duel with the Moltke and the Seydlitz. However, the Tiger, in common with Beatty’s flagship the Lion, did not escape unscathed, as evidenced by her Captain’s description of the time when she received her third hit from a large calibre shell: ‘Tiger steered in the direction of the fleeing enemy and then, at this very critical moment, when quick decision had to be made, when the great speed of the Germans meant that every second brought them nearer to safety, there occurred a very large explosion which rattled us all in the conning-tower very considerably. It appeared that a shell had entered the Intelligence Office, which was immediately below the conning-tower, and having exploded there, blew up through the gun control tower, rendering everybody in it hors de combat and killing Engineer Captain Taylor and six men, and wounding three officers and six men.’ Among them was White, who was severely wounded. On recovering from his wounds, he was appointed a Gunnery Lieutenant in the cruiser Natal and he was similarly employed when she was torn apart by a massive internal explosion while lying at Cromarty harbour on 30 December 1915. He is commemorated by name on the Chatham Naval Memorial. During the Great War the Royal Navy lost four ships to internal explosions whilst lying in harbour, the other three being H.M.S. Bulwark, H.M.S. Princess Irene and H.M.S. Vanguard. At the time there was much speculation that these losses were due to sabotage by enemy agents. However, the more likely explanation is that they were the result of deterioration in the stocks of high explosives carried on board. Sold with a quantity of original documentation, including handwritten letters of condolence from the Queen’s secretary at Buckingham Palace, dated 5 January 1916, and from Admiral Beatty, dated 3 January 1916; a portrait photograph of the recipient; H.M.S. King Edward VII Christmas card and picture post cards of two other ships in which he served, together with embroidered cap tallies for ‘H.M.S. Prince of Wales’ and ‘H.M.S. Venerable’.