R.E.W. HADLEY

Robert Hadley was a Royal Navy sick berth attendant on HMS Invincible. He was killed at the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916 at the age of 32. In the official records he is given as the brother of M.E.Thorneycroft (nee Hadley) of 37 Dundee Street, St James, Northampton. There is no mention of Sulgrave although his name is, of course, on the memorial in the church.

HMS Invincible was the flagship of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron. She was hit in her "Q" turret by a salvo from the German battleship Lutzow which blew the roof of the turret over the side. It was either this shell hit which caused a flash down the magazine or a second shell in the same salvo that penetrated the armour and exploded in the magazine, causing a massive explosion. The ship broke in two and sank with the loss of all but six of her crew of 1,021.

Jutland was the last, and largest, of the great battleship battles.  Neither submarines or aircraft played any part in the battle, despite the plans of both sides.  Never again did battle fleets meet again in such numbers.  While the Royal Navy suffered more losses, the battle effectively ended any threat from the German High Seas Fleet, which now knew it could not contest control of the North Sea with the Royal Navy.

The Battlecruiser Invincible