550 sailors drowned as British battleship sunk by torpedo

Captain's last recorded words: 'Keep cool and be British'

British Channel, 2 January 1915 - 550 lives were lost yesterday with the sinking of the British Navy battleship, Formidable.

The ship was struck on the starboard quarter by at least one torpedo just before 2.30 on Friday morning.

Quickly, the boat settled lower and lower, sinking by the bows. The stern remained out of the water some little time before its final disappearance, just an hour after the accident.

Survivors

A small number of sailors managed to escape the ship on barges. One of these barges made it to land at Lyme Regis. It contained some men who had jumped into the water from upper decks despite mountainous seas. 

The trawler Providence, skippered by William Pillar, defied huge waves to pull survivors from the water and the seamanship of its crew has been commended by all.

Some men lost their lives trying to escape, but others were pulled from the water, including one man who had kept himself afloat for up to two hours with the help of an oar.

Capt Arthur N. Loxley (left), who went down with his ship HMS Formidable, and Capt Pillar (right)of the trawler Providence who braved the dangerous seas to rescue survivors. (Images: Illustrated London News [London, England], 9 January 1915)

Captain Roxley's last words

Captain Roxley, the skipper of the ship, stuck to his post throughout. The signalers also remained on board and fired rockets and flares at regular intervals.

According to one survivor, Captain Roxley stood on the bridge smoking a cigarette with his dog Bruce beside him. Some of his last recorded words were: ‘Steady men. It’s all right. No panic, men. Keep cool and be British.'

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]