Lieutenant Harold Woollcombe-Boyce was drowned at sea on this day in 1917
On 8 February 1917, HMS Ghurka sank in heavy seas after hitting a German mine off Dungeness. The mines had been laid on 7 February 1917 by UC-47, under the command of Lieutenant P. Hundius.
At about 7.45pm, an explosion occurred in the forward part of Ghurka. She sank within minutes but the armed trawler Highlander which was first to arrive on the scene managed to save five men from the sea. The remaining 75 men of the crew perished.
A Tribal Class destroyer, she was built at Hebburn and launched in 1907. Ghurka served as part of the Dover Patrol in the war under the command of Lieutenant Harold Courtnay Woollcombe-Boyce.
Above: HMS Gurkha
Harold had entered Dartmouth as a Naval Cadet in September 1903 and was given command of Ghurka in July 1914. Harold was lost with HMS Ghurka, as were all the officers. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
The Ghurka remains on the seabed just off Dungeness. In 2006, the ship was officially designated a protected place and war grave status. One crew member – Chief Artificer John Corner - is buried in Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham.