George Hollingsworth
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
George was born on 24th February 1882 in Nottingham and was the son of Enoch, a plasterer's labourer, and and Eliza Hollingsworth, née Goddard of 10 Edginton Terrace, Nottingham. His father Enoch was born in 1851 in Chilwell whilst his mother Eliza Goddard was born in 1852 in Nottingham. Their marriage is recorded in 1869 in the Nottingham Registration district. They went on to have a total of 13 children, sadly however six of their children died in infancy prior to the 1911 census. Their surviving children were:- Alice b1874, Emma b1878, George b1881, Claude b1889, Thomas b1891, Enoch b1894 and Ivy b1899. In the 1901 census the family are living at 65 Thorney Wood Rise, Nottigham However in the same census we find George has already left the family home and is serving in HMS Hotspur which was stationed off Bermuda. He is shown as single 19 yrs of age and a Stoker 2nd Class. By the 1911 his family are living at 19 Holly Gardens, Thorneywood, Nottingham and are shown as Enoch 60 yrs a plasterers labourer, he is living with his wife Eliza 59 yrs a housewife and their two youngest children Enoch 17 yrs, a railway labourer and Ivy 12 yrs a scholar. In 1914 George was living at Edginton Street, Nottingham.
George joined the Royal Navy on 31st May 1900 when he was 18 years of age, signing on for 12 years. He gave his date of birth as 24th February 1882 and stated he had been born in Nottingham. He gave his occupation as that of a labourer. His first ship was HMS Pembroke II which he joined on 31st May 1900. He served in HMS Pembroke until 2nd February 1901 and then served in numerous ships and shore establishments during his 12 year career. He transferred to the Royal Fleet Reserve (Chatham B9174) on 16 November 1912 on the expiry of continuous service. He rejoined the Navy on 25 July 1914 as a Stoker 1st Class and was drafted to HMS Cressy on 29 July. HMS Cressy in company with HMS Aboukir and HMS Hogue was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-9 off the Dutch coast on 22 September 1914. Casualties were high - about 1500 men from the three ships - and George was one of those lost. His body was not recovered for burial and his name is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial. HMS Cressy, HMS Aboukir and HMS Hogue of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, had been patrolling the Dogger area of the North Sea to deter ships of the Imperial Germany Navy, especially mine layers and torpedo craft, and also to protect troop movements to France. Although able to maintain patrols in the bad weather which frequently affected this sea area, the cruisers were large and slow, and thus not the most suitable ships for this task being a perfect target for submarines, the new and dangerous underwater threat to surface shipping. Their vulnerability was highlighted by a description of the three cruisers as the 'Live Bait Squadron'. At 0625 on 22 September HMS Aboukir was hit by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-9 (Lt Otto Weddigen). Aboukir's captain, thinking that his ship had hit a drifting mine, ordered Hogue and Cressy to close to pick up survivors. Both ships were in turn hit by torpedoes; all three ships were severely damaged and sank within two hours of the first attack. Many of those lost were Naval reservists mobilized on the outbreak of war. Lt Weddigen was killed the following year when his submarine U-29 was rammed by HMS Dreadnought in the Pentland Firth on 18 March.
An extract from the 'Nottingham Evening Post,' dated 24th September 1914. “George Hollingworth (sic), of Edginton-street, was on board the Cressy. He had been in the Navy 12 years, and was called up for the manoeuvres in July, since when he has not been home. His mother is very anxious concerning him, and her suspense is accentuated by the fact that she has three sons in the army of whom she has heard nothing since the war began. One is with the Expeditionary Force, and the other two were in India when last they communicated with her.” Above extract is courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918.
