George Chapman

George was the son of George and Fanny Chapman (nee Johnson). George senior, the son of John and Elizabeth Chapman, was born in 1874 in Roade, Northamptonshire, and baptised in Roade parish church on 8 March 1874. Fanny was born in Tibshelf, Derbyshire. George and Fanny were married in 1894 (marriage registered J/A/S Mansfield) and they had at least four children: George (b. 23 July 1894), Lucy (b. 1896, A/M/J Mansfield), John (b. abt 1898) and William Leonard (b. 1906, J/A/S Mansfield); all the children were born in Tibshelf. In 1901 George (27, a coal miner hewer, and Fanny (26), were living at 8 Lincoln Street, Tibshelf, Derbyshire, with their three children, George (6), Lucy (5) and John (3). Also in the household were two boarders, John T Abrahams(28) and Henry F Abrahams (21) who both colliery workers. Their fourth child, William Leonard, was born in 1906 and Fanny died some time between 1906 and 1911 when her husband was described on the census as a widower. By now he was living at 138 Blake Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, with his four children, George (16) a coal miner hewer, Lucy (15), John (13) a labourer above ground at a colliery, and William (4). George senior was still living at the same address when he was notified of his son's death in 1917. Lucy married Norman Mason in 1916 (marriage registered O/N/D Mansfield) and died in 1933 at the age of 36 (death registered March, Mansfield). George senior probably died in 1946 at the age of 72 (death registered March, Mansfield). There is a record of the death of a John Chapman (b. abt 1898) in 1966 (death registered June, Mansfield) and of a William Leonard Chapman (b. 22 September 1906) in 1978 (death registered March Hastings and Rother, Sussex).

In 1911 he was a coal miner hewer.

HMS Vanguard. George was killed when HMS Vanguard sank after an explosion while the ship was in Scapa Flow. His body was not recovered for burial and he is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. HMS Vanguard was a St. Vincent-class ‘Dreadnought’ type battleship built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. She was designed and built during the Anglo-German naval race and spent her life in the British Home Fleet. HMS Vanguard saw action at Jutland and returned undamaged from the battle. On the afternoon of 9 July 1917, the ship was destroyed by a spontaneous cordite explosion at Scapa Flow whilst her crew was practising the drill to abandon ship. It is likely that an undetected adjacent coal bunker fire caused the explosive to become dangerously over-heated. Only two of Vanguard’s crew of around 900 survived the disaster.

HMS Vanguard lies 111 feet down off the north shore of the Isle of Flotta and is a war grave; divers regularly replace a White Ensign on the wreck. A wreath was laid over the wreck and commemorations held in Lyness and in St Magnus’ Cathedral, Kirwall, on the centenary of the loss of the ship.