Chief Engine Room Artificer (CERA) Harry Burton Broomhead DSM
Royal Navy,
Royal Australian Navy,
by Robert Simpson
Harry Burton Broomhead was born on 25th May 1877 at 25 Charles St. Sheffield South, Yorkshire. He was a son to Arthur Broomhead and Lucy Moore according to his birth certificate. He had a brother Fred and sister Lily. His mother Lucy may have also been known as Harriett, as that is the name used on the 1881 census, when they lived at 48 Furnwal St. in Sheffield. Lily was born in 1879 but unfortunately died in 1884 (only a possibility). Fred was born in May 1880. His father, Arthur, was born in 1847 in Sheffield. He was a razor smith. The 1871 census has him living as a boarder at 181 Allen St. although he is listed as being married. The only marriage that seems to match is an Arthur Broomhead married a Harriett Wilson in April 1868, but that does not seem right as Harriett was only 26 in 1881 according to the census in that year. That also presumes that Harriet is the Lucy mentioned in his birth certificate. Without the records, it is hard to know. There is no other suitable match. An advertisement from a solicitor in 1943 would seem to give some clues. Amongst other people he is searching for descendants of, he is looking for “the descendants of Harriet Moore, who married William Burton at Bashford, Nottingham, in 1873, and subsequently believed to have married Arthur Broomhead, and subsequently John Fred Harrison”. Records can be found that confirm the marriage of William Burton and Harriet Moore in 1873 and John Fred Harrison to Harriet Burton in 1888, but the only marriage between Arthur Broomhead and a Harriet is the above one. There is also a marriage record for a Harriet Moore and William Wilson in Aylsham in 1864. There are no marriages for an Arthur Broomhead to a Lucy Moore. It would appear the only way to sort it all out would be to get birth, marriage and death records for all involved. Even finding a birth to match Harriet is not possible as is trying to find her in earlier census. There are some matches that could be right. It certainly looks like she had an interesting life.
It also appears that his father remarried in 1891 while still living in Wales. It is also hard to track down what happened to Lily, with the death record being a possibility. With Fred, it would appear he went with his mother when she remarried, as for the 1891 census they are listed as a family, with John, Harriet and Fred all having the surname Harrison. There is also a record of him in the 1901 census under Harrison, but John is not there. In 1911, he has gone back to the name Broomhead and is also married and they have a son. In the 1891 census Harry can not be found, but his father, Arthur is living in Swansea, Wales as a boarder and has the occupation listed as cutter.
It would seem that from the confusion of his family, Harry craved some stability and the navy gave him that when he joined on 13th October 1898 at Portsmouth. His job was listed as a fitter and he had stated his age as a year older than he actually was (25th May 1876). He was born in Sheffield Yorkshire. His service number was 269514 at Portsmouth. His description was height 5 foot 5 and a half inches tall, dark brown hair, blue eyes and fresh complexion. In the 1901 census he was in Royal Navy Hospital Haslar, in Alverstoke Hampshire and he was listed as an engine room artificer in the R.N. Unfortunately, no records state why.
In July 1907, he married Florence Loftus Wootton in Nottinghamshire. Florence was born in Nottinghamshire in 1885, a daughter to Thomas and Mary Wootton. Harry and Florence had two children. Clifford Wootton Broomhead was born in Southsea, Hampshire in 1908 and Elaine Broomhead was born in the same place in 1909.
The 1911 census has the four of them living at 87 Orchard Rd, Southsea, Hampshire with his occupation listed as Chief Engine Room Artificer in the Royal Navy. He had 3 Good Conduct badges, 13th October 1901, 12th October 1906 and 11th October 1911. On 15th October 1913, he was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct medal as C.E.R.A. 2 which was given to him by the Commodore at H.M.S. Dolphin on 11th December.
His British service records reads-
|
Ships &c., served in |
Rating |
From and To |
|
Victory II |
Acting E.R.A. 4th class |
12 Oct 98 to 7 Jan 99 |
|
Victory III |
Acting E.R.A. 4th class |
8 Jan 99 to 4 Feb 99 |
|
Victory II |
Acting E.R.A. 4th class |
5 Feb 99 |
|
Duke of Wellington II |
Acting E.R.A. 4th class |
11 Apr 99 |
|
Duke of Wellington II |
E.R.A. 4th class |
11 Apr 00 |
|
Duke of Wellington II |
E.R.A. 3rd class |
13 Oct 01 to 15 June 03 |
|
Leviathan |
E.R.A. 3rd class |
16 June 03 to 14 Oct 04 |
|
Humber |
E.R.A. 3rd class |
15 Oct 04 to 26 Oct 04 |
|
Leviathan |
E.R.A. 3rd class |
27 Oct 04 |
|
Leviathan |
E.R.A. 2nd class |
11 Oct 05 to 4 Dec 05 |
|
Victory II |
E.R.A. 2nd class |
5 Dec 05 to 12 Jan 06 |
|
Brilliant |
E.R.A. 2nd class |
13 Jan 06 to 2 Apr 06 |
|
Victory |
E.R.A. 2nd class |
3 Apr 06 to 18 Apr 06 |
|
Thames |
E.R.A. 2nd class |
19 Apr 06 to 1 Nov 07 |
|
Mercury |
E.R.A. 2nd class |
2 Nov 07 |
|
Mercury |
Act Ch E.R.A. 2nd class |
1 Nov 09 |
|
Mercury |
Ch E.R.A. 2 |
1 Nov 10 to 30 Jun 11 |
|
Arrogant |
Ch E.R.A. 2 |
1 July 11 to 14 Dec 11 |
|
Bonaventure |
Ch E.R.A. 2 |
15 Dec 11 to 20 Aug 12 |
|
Pembroke II |
Ch E.R.A. 2 |
21 Aug 12 to 15 Jan 13 |
|
Mendstone |
Ch E.R.A. 2 |
16 Jan 13 to 4 June 13 |
|
Dolphin |
Ch E.R.A. 2 |
5 Jun 13 to 30 Nov 13 |
In all cases his character was very good. Then there is a note discharged to R.A.N. His service records states “Lent to R.A.N. for 3 years from 1/12/13 for service with submarine A.E.2. R.A.N. agreement 3 years 1.12.13. Prisoner of war in Turkey following loss of Australian Submarine AE2 on 15.5.15 in Dardanelles. A remark entered on 10th March 1919 stated “Has been promoted to the rank of Actg A E to date from 1st March 1916 and appointed Platypus, additional M Submarine to date from 8th March 1919.
His Australian service records give his official number as 8278, that he was on loan from the R.N. for 3 years from 1st December 1913, he was five foot five- and three-quarter inches tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and fresh complexion. He had a tattoo mark on his left forearm and had 3 Good Conduct Badges and a LSGC medal. The AE2 was the second submarine for the Royal Australian Navy and was built and commissioned in England. The crew was half RN and half RAN as there were not enough experienced Australian sailors to crew her. It is not known how Harry became part of the crew, whether he volunteered or was ordered. After being commissioned on 28th February 1914, the AE2 and AE1 sailed to Australia, arriving at Sydney in May 1914. They were the first submarines to make such a trip.
After war was declared they were used in New Guinea against the German colonies there. The AE1 was lost at sea with all hands and it is not known what happened. The AE2 was based in Suva and returned to Australia in November. With the destruction of the German Pacific fleet, the AE2 was to be used in European waters so she joined the second AIF convoy at Albany and was towed by the Berrima across the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. The convoy arrived in Suez on 27th January 1915 and was to be used in the assault on the Dardanelles. Admiral de Robeck had asked his submarine commanders if a submarine could get through the tricky Narrows of the Dardanelles Strait to the Sea of Marmara to attack Turkish supply lines to Gallipoli. The answer was yes. Stoker came up with a plan to get the AE2 through the Turkish defences and mines. The first attempt nearly came to disaster with the AE2 crashing into rocks and nearly being lost. She went to Malta to be repaired and to have anti-mine deflectors attached. On the 21st April 1915, another attempt was planned with only two hours from the orders to departure. As they moved up the straits the searchlights went out but at Kephez Point it came back on so they prepared to dive. But the shaft that worked the foremost diving rudder broke, so they had to turn around and return to base to repair it. They were approved for another attempt.
At about 2.30 am on the 25th April 1915, the AE2 entered the Dardanelles strait but this time they were sighted and fired at, so they submerged and went under the main minefield. Eighteen times the AE2 scraped against the mine cables as she blindly went through the mine field. Off Chanak, Stoker raised the periscope which brought immediate gunfire and various ships trying to ram the periscope. He sighted a cruiser of the “Paik-e-Shevket” class attempting to drop mines in front of the submarine, so he fired a torpedo at it and had to dive before a destroyer rammed the submarine. The torpedo struck as the AE2 was under water and sunk the cruiser. In avoiding the sinking ship, the AE2 ran aground twice in view of Turkish guns, but they could not depress low enough to destroy her. Both times the crew refloated her and they continued around Nagara Point. Every time Stoker raised the periscope, he brought fire from the Turkish ships, so he decided to go to the bottom and sit there until things calmed down. Ships passed overhead searching for them until night and then they were able to surface and get clean air. They sent out a message but got no reply.
The next morning, they dived and upon seeing some ships fired at one but missed. They continued on and entered the Sea of Marmara, being the first submarine to do so. Their message had got through and Sir Ian Hamilton sent a note to the Australians at Gallipoli to dig in and fight. While in the Sea the submarine fired its torpedoes at ships, but none were hit. On the 29th they spotted another periscope, it was the E14. The captains swapped stories and agreed to meet at the same place the next day. The AE2 was waiting for the E14 at 10am but instead saw a Turkish torpedo boat, the Sultanhisar, approaching. Captain Riza had sighted the AE2, which submerged before he could get close. But the AE2 hit a patch of denser water which caused the bow to rise. As it surfaced the Sultanhisar fired at it. Flooding the forward tanks, the submarine sank again but the rudders seemed to not work and it continued down. Emptying the ballast, the submarine rapidly rose to the surface. It then went into a steeper dive after filling the ballast tanks again and then went into a quick ascent. After surfacing the Sultanhisar put two shots into its engine room. Now unable to submerge, Stoker gave the order to abandon ship and prepared to scuttle her. As they were being taken on the Sultanhisar, the AE2 sunk beneath the waves where she remained hidden until in 1998 when she was found upright and intact on the bottom, with the hatch still open.
Thus, began their imprisonment for three and a half years. They were fed substandard food, lived in substandard quarters where they picked up lice and fleas and were transferred to various prison camps. They had to work on various projects the Turks had for them. They also had to contest with diseases due to overcrowding. They were still prisoners when the war ended. Not much is known about Harry’s time in prison, but he apparently wrote a letter to his Mother in 1918 telling her he was practically starving and weighed under 5 stone. Being distraught at the letter, she wrote to the Central Prisoners of War Committee begging for their help. He did survive as did most of the crew, but four died. After the war, he slowly recuperated with his family at Southsea. He decided to return to Australia as his position in the British Navy was compromised by his imprisonment.
His Australian service reads-
|
Name of Ship |
Rating |
From and To |
|
London Depot |
Ch.E.R.A. II |
1.12.13 to 27.2.14 |
|
Submarines |
Ch.E.R.A. II |
28.2.14 to 24.5.14 |
|
Penguin |
Ch.E.R.A. II |
25.5.14 to 31.12.14 |
|
Submarine |
Ch.E.R.A. II |
1.1.15 to 30.6.15 |
|
London Depot |
Ch.E.R.A. II |
1.7.15 to 29.2.16 |
|
London Depot |
1.3.16 to 7.3.19 |
|
|
Platypus |
8.3.19 to 31.12.19 |
|
|
Platypus for J.I. |
1.1.20 to 30.6.22 |
|
|
Cerebus addl for Subs |
1.7.22 to 14.1.23 |
|
|
Cerebus additional |
15.1.23 to 14.5.29 |
|
|
Cerebus |
15.5.29 to 22.7.30 |
|
|
Cerebus (additional) |
23.7.30 to 12.8.30 |
|
|
Transferred to Emergency List |
13.8.30 |
Various remarks are made on his Duty forms including that he was a prisoner of war in Turkey, he was appointed Acting Artificer Engineer from 1st March 1916 and he was paid 25 pounds, 7 shillings and 6 pence compensation for clothing lost on Sub. AE2.
Turkish memorial to the AE2.
The Queenslander newspaper on Saturday 29th May 1915 has an article on the AE2 with the Admiralty issuing “a statement in which it presumes the loss of the Australian submarine AE2. It is added that it is understood that 3 officers and 17 men were made prisoners”. This report was issued from London on the 18th. A Turkish report referred to the sinking of the submarine AE2 and the capture of her crew.
By 1918 his weight had fallen to under five stone and when he returned to his family in Southsea, he took some time to recover. So, his family must have stayed in England when Harry came to Australia on the AE2. After the war, they must have moved over with him.
The London Gazette of 22nd April 1919 has C.E.R.A. Harry Burton Broomhead, O.N. 269514 (Po.) was to receive the Distinguished Service Medal for miscellaneous services in HM Australian Submarine AE2. In the navy administration records it is listed as 269514 Broomhead H.B., medal number 5321, Rank C.E.R.A., R.A.N., with clasp for “A.E. 2” Sea of Marmora 25-30 April 1915 and was sent to C.dre i/c Australian Fleet 28.7.19. (Although it is listed as a clasp, they did not use clasps and the details were impressed on the rim of the medal.) He is one of the few men from the AE 2 that are mentioned on that page. In The Navy List dated 1st April 1920, in the list of seagoing officers of the RAN is Harry Burton Broomhead DSM with date of qualification 1st March 1916 in the list of Artificer Engineers. The Brisbane Courier of Friday 15th August 1919 has a list of Australian Naval Honours which included the Distinguished Service Medal for Chief Engine-room Artificer (1st class) Harry Burton Broomhead (8278).
His appointment on loan from the R.N. was extended for one year from 25th March 1924, but was then terminated on 11th August. He was reappointed in the Permanent Naval Force for temporary service from 12th August 1924 and was promoted to Commissioned Engineer P.N.F. from 31st December 1924. His transfer to the Emergency List was made on 13th August 1930 and then to the Retired List on 25th May 1936.
After the war the family lived in Melbourne and Harry was still working for the Royal Australian Navy. The 1924 Electoral Roll has them living in 4 Kinkora Rd, Hawthorn and Harry was a Warrant Officer in the navy. From 1931 to 1937 they were living in 5 Clyde St. Malvern East with him listed as being in the navy. Their daughter, Elaine, went to England for some time in 1937. The ship Orion, left Brisbane as the last port of call in Australia, after calling in at Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney on its way to Colombo and then to London where it arrived on 8th April 1937. She gave her intended residence as 1 Holly St. Nottingham, c/o Thomas Cook & Son and her profession as listed as stenographer. That was her job in Australia before she went and after she returned. It is not known why she went over, if to work or for a holiday but on 29th October 1937 from London, she returned to Australia. The address she gave that she had been living at in England was 71 Patshull Rd Kentish Town. In 1940, they were living in 378 Wattletree Rd, Malvern. On 28th May 1940 Florence passed away at that address. The death notice states she was the beloved wife of Harry and dearly loved mother of Clifford and Elaine and was “at rest”.
By 1942 Harry had moved to 216 Bourke St, Melbourne. He passed away there on 11th March 1942 of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. He was buried in the Burwood Cemetery on the 13th with his wife in the same plot in section [BUR] CE5-5. The City Coroner ordered burial of the body without inquest. The death record states he spent 2 years in New South Wales and 22 years in Victoria. For some unknown reason his name is placed in the line that should have his father’s name, no mother is listed and the occupation that is stated is Naval Officer so obviously, someone put in his details instead of this father’s. There is no grave stone or marker for the grave, which seems a sad epitaph to a brave man.
Oddly enough he appears in the 1943 Electoral Roll, at 5 Clyde St and twice in the 1946 roll. They obviously had a problem removing his name. Even his daughter when applying for probate, shows a confusing record. It states in 1949 that she was applying for letters of administration to the Supreme Court as he died intestate but he was living at 374 Wattle Rd East Malvern at the time. She was living at 52 Orong Rd, Armadale at the time. Why is she applying so many years after he died? Even his Australian service record has written “deceased 1946”. This is one of the many confusing records in his story. It appears neither child married. Clifford was a clerk in the 1936 and 1937 electoral rolls, living with his parents, but then it looks like he moved to New South Wales in the late 1940’s. On 27th February 1939 Clifford enlisted as 319978 Gunner in the 4th Field Brigade in the Militia Forces. He gave his occupation as a plumber at Dawson and Smith of Maribyrnong, and he was single. He had been in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve as a Cadet from 1st July 1924 to 30th June 1926. It appears he had defective eye sight and this affected his service. He was transferred to the reserve regiment on 1st November 1939. He gave his address as 5 Clyde St, Glen Iris and Harry was living with him, which also seems strange given the above. Elaine remained a clerk/stenographer and lived in Victoria.
An update on the story: Through the efforts of Tony Vine and the Submarine Association of Australia, the final resting place for Harry Broomhead is now recognized by their representations to the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Pictures with thanks to Peter Wilmot of Melbourne, who represented Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum at the dedication service at Burwood Cemetery on Sunday, 4 Nov 2018.
His medal group is the Distinguished Service Medal, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
ANZAC Biographies
On our website you will find the biographical details of ANZAC (as well as British) servicemen & women
whose medals or other memorabilia form part of the collection belonging to the
Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum,
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia.
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