Clement Metcalfe Freeman

Clement Metcalfe Freeman

Born in St Ives in 1894, Clement was the third oldest in a family of four boys and seven girls born to Henry, a shepherd and drover, and Ellen (née Metcalfe). The family home was in Melbourne Place, St Ives, the parents and eleven children packed into five rooms. By 1911 Clement worked as a grocer's errand boy. At some point he worked as a railway labourer.

Clement joined the Royal Navy in January 1915 as a stoker and trained at HMS Pembroke II, the Royal Navy Air Station at Eastchurch. On 15 May 1915 he transferred to HMS Princess Irene. The Canadian owned ship started life in 1914 as a commercial liner. The Royal Navy requisitioned and converted it into an auxiliary minelayer.

HMS Princess Irene made two successful mine laying trips before mooring at Saltpan Reach, off Sheerness, The ship loaded up with 500 mines, about 150 tons of high explosive. At 11.14am on Thursday 27 May 1915 one of the biggest naval disasters occurred when the vessel blew up without warning. A column of orange flames shot up into the sky. Seconds later a second column rose to about 300 feet. A deafening explosion followed which blew the ship to pieces.

The wreckage of HMS Princess Irene, engulfed in smoke after the explosion off Sheerness.

The force of the explosion hurled debris and body parts in a radius of twenty miles. In total, 273 officers and men of HMS Princess Irene died. Also 76 dockyard workers aboard ship at the time and a further three members of the public. Three crew members who had gone ashore survived, and one blown off the vessel into the sea.

The Court of Inquiry evidence received evidence that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. It concluded the cause of the explosion was a faulty timer.

Clement had only been on board HMS Princess Irene for twelve days. He was one of those killed in the explosion, aged 20 years. As with most of the men lost, Clement has no known grave.

Do you have a photograph of Clement or any additional information? If so, please get in touch via the make contact page.

To read about St Ives in WWI and of all the St Ives men who died, click St Ives in World War I.

Source materials
Click any of the links below to view original source materials.
1901 Census
1911 Census
Royal Navy Register
Commonwealth War Graves Register
Commemorative Certificate