HMS Robin - HMS Snipe - HMS Sandpiper

HMS ROBIN - HMS SNIPE - HMS NIGHTINGALE - HMS SANDPIPER
For basic information regarding these gunboats click here.

HMS ROBIN

I was incredibly fortunate to be contacted by Steve Whelan who submitted the two photographs of HMS Robin seen below (I was actually coming to believe I would never find anything on the Robin or her three sisterships). Steve Whelan's grandfather, Arthur Whelan, served aboard HMS Robin around 1920 and the photographs seen below were taken at Canton and Hong Kong. A gallery of all of Arthur Whelan's photographs from the period can be seen here.

HMS Robin in Dry Dock at Hong Kong. Copyright 2004 - Steve Whelan. All rights reserved.

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS OF HMS ROBIN FROM THE RECORDS OF ARTHUR WHELAN

Above: HMS Robin

HMS SNIPE

Above: This photograph is believed to be HMS Snipe.

I recently read, "Something about a Sailor", by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas J. Spence Lyne (published 1940) which has several interesting chapters about his time commanding HMS Snipe. He was appointed to command the vessel on November 4, 1904 and made his way out from England to the Far East on HMS Hogue. During the voyage he had glimpses of the Russian Baltic Fleet traveling the same route on its journey to the debacle at Tsushima. He reached Hankow, where Snipe happened to then be, in early 1905 and took over command from Lieutenant Commander Davidson. The only other officer mentioned on the ship was Surgeon-Lieutenant Charles H. Dawe. Of the crew he makes mention of Gunner Mate Hewitt.

During his tour of duty HMS Snipe patrolled the lower Yangtze between Hankow and Shanghai. It is interesting that Lyne states there were then six Royal Navy river gunboats on the Yangtze, two assigned to the upper river and four to the lower river. HMS Woodcock, HMS Woodlark, HMS Kinsha were on the Yangtze without doubt (although none of these ships are mentioned in the Snipe chapters). Obviously, HMS Snipe was there as Lyne was her commanding officer. HMS Teal was certainly on the Yangtze in 1906 as Lyne reports being in port with her at Kiu-Kiang (I believe this occurred in the summer of 1906, Lieutenant Commander Godfrey and Surgeon Lieutenant W. H. Edgar were the officers on Teal - other notable non-Royal Navy gunboats present were USS Villalobos (Captain Train) and German gunboat SMS Vaterland (Captain Kutter)). I would assume the last of the six gunboats mentioned was HMS Nightingale (HMS Widgeon probably had not been shipped out to China yet as she had only been recently built).

In October of 1905, Surgeon Lieutenant Dawe became ill and was moved to Japan, being replaced by Surgeon Lieutenant Gibbell while Dawe recovered.

A very large part of Lyne's writing involves hunting trips. During his time in China (this includes his time, later, on HMS Kinsha), Lyne hunted crocodiles, tigers, bustards, boars and numerous types of fowl (they managed to bag at least one of all these animals). On one occasion his party shot a farmer's dog by mistake, much to their embarrassment.

In February of 1906 Lyne volunteered HMS Snipe to survey the Han river and got as far as Maling, the water being too shallow to proceed further. Snipe returned to Hankow, arriving on February 23, 1906 (Surgeon Lieutenant Dawe had returned by this point).

One major incident in which HMS Snipe was involved was the Nanchang Massacre. On February 27, 1906 HMS Snipe was ordered to proceed from Hankow to Nanchang due to civil unrest that appeared to be occurring there. As Snipe approached Nanchang it was greeted by a junk bearing the bodies of eight Europeans. The bodies were found to be a French Roman Catholic Priest (Father Pere La Couche), five other Roman catholic priests and Mr. and Mrs. Kingham (of the Brethren Mission). The circumstances leading to their deaths can only be described as odd.

It appears that on February 23, 1906 French Priest, Pere La Couche, invited a local official to dinner and demanded the release of six catholic converts who were jailed after being implicated in a murder. Over the official's protests, La Couche made the man sign release papers for the men held. The official then excused himself, went into another room and slit his own throat. He lingered for a number of hours and is said to have told the Chinese summoned to the scene that he had been attacked by the priest.

The local population was notified that the official had been attacked and a mob proceeded to burn down the catholic mission, hospital and the orphanage. They then killed all of the priests, including La Couche (stoning and beating them to death). The mob moved on to the Brethren Mission killing Mr. and Mrs. Kingham and their seven year old daughter (they died in a similar, horrid manner).

HMS Snipe moored at Nanchang and immediately commenced an investigation, in addition to restoring order to the town. After examining the body of the Chinese official, Surgeon Lieutenant Dawe determined that his wounds were most likely self inflicted. Lyne then methodically interviewed the local inhabitants slowly putting together how the Europeans were killed by the mob.

Local officials greatly feared what the reaction of the gunboat might be to the murders (I expect they believed HMS Snipe would simply level Nanchang). Those involved in the murders were therefore immediately brought to trial and twelve men were executed. Lyne found out later that the men's confessions had occurred as a result of being strung up by their thumbs. With the filing of Lyne's report the investigation was closed.

In autumn of 1906 Surgeon Lieutenant Dawe went home to England. He was replaced by surgeon Tom Myles and, later, MacMahon. In late 1906 HMS Snipe went to Hankow as rioting appeared imminent by the locals. Snipe's arrival in port quelled it.

Early in 1907 Lyne's command of HMS Snipe drew to an end. He went home via Canada and US, traveling across North America by rail. (This was unusual as almost everyone was sent home westward by ship. Lyne had relatives in the US so an exception was made).

Lyne went went on to command the coastal Destroyer Mayfly (later T.B 11). In August of 1908 he was reassigned from England back to the Yangtze, this time to command the Yangtze flagship, HMS Kinsha (See the HMS Kinsha section for further information).

ABOVE: This photograph was submitted by David Angove whose grandfather served on HMS Kinsha in 1905. I cannot tell whether she is HMS Snipe, HMS Nightingale, HMS Woodlark or HMS Woodcock. It is quite difficult to differentiate Woodlark and Woodcock from Robin, Sandpiper, Snipe and Nightingale. Woodcock and Woodlark were about 35 feet longer than the aforementioned vessels, but estimating the length of a ship is difficult when photographs are involved. On all of the vessels mentioned there was a steal superstructure, containing absolutely minimal quarters, built up from the deck. I would guess this superstructure existed to provide an armor plated area to occupy should the ship receive fire. When these vessels were shipped from England and reconstructed in China, they were immediately modified in an ad hoc manner, with quarters being built (I would assume out of wood) wherever they might fit.

This shot above was taken aboard HMS Snipe somewhere between 1899 and 1903. The caption reads "Reception of Governor of Hunan on 'Snipe'".

It is very probable that this shot was taken either on the Yangtze, or off of the Yangtze on a tributary going to Tung Ting Lake and Changsha. This shot comes from the photographs of Lancelot Giles who was appointed by the British Government as a Student Interpreter in July of 1899. Many of the Giles' family photographs can be found in the collections of the Australian National University.

Given the photographs in the Giles collection surrounding the one above, it appears that HMS Snipe must have been on the Yangtze between 1899 and 1903 (the three proceeding photos are of Tung Ting Lake and Changsha - the two photos following the one above are of the Yangtze).

Lancelot Giles kept a diary of his time in China between 1899 and 1903 and it was published in 1970 as, "The Siege of the Peking Legations", by the University of Western Australia Press (fascinating reading). Unfortunately, this work makes no mention of gunboat actions.

HMS SANDPIPER

HMS Sandpiper served on the West River (Hong Kong) but very little exists about her. I do know she was sunk by a typhoon in early January of 1900. The photograph below shows her being raised and unfortunately only her funnel can be seen.

Above: HMS Sandpiper being raised after sinking during a typhoon in January of 1900.

HMS NIGHTINGALE

Very little exists about HMS Nightingale but The Royal Navy in China 1834-1997 recently permitted this site to show the following image. The photograph is HMS Nightingale on Christmas, 1911. I would note that her window configuration is much more like HMS Woodcock than HMS Robin, causing significant difficulties in distinguishing the ships of the Robin and Teal classes.

ABOVE: HMS Nightingale at Kiukiang (Yangtze) on Christmas, 1911.

I have only found one reference to HMS Nightingale, around the outbreak of WWI. "Yangtze Patrol", by U.S. Rear Admiral Kemp Tolley, has the following notation:

Back in Kiukiang on 29 July [1914], Dawes [Lieutenant R. A. Dawes, in command of USS Elcano] found plenty of mail but no "excitement." Two days later, things were different. "Rumors of war! HMS Nightingale was interned this morning with only a Chinese caretaker."

This is a reference to HMS Nightingale on the Yangtze as that is where Dawes was stationed. I believe the internment was voluntary as, with the onset of WWI, ships of warring nations were required to either leave or immobilize themselves in port.

In the remainder of the literature I have reviewed, I have yet to come across any other reference to HMS Nightingale or her sistership, HMS Sandpiper (West River). The Royal Nay in China 1834-1997 has pictures of all four of the Robin Class vessels here.

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