ELIAS HORTON
Stoker 1st
Class D/K 3084
REGINALD
STADDON
Stoker 1st
Class D/K 19173
Elias Rowse Horton was born on 12
January 1891 the fifth child of
Edwin and Keziah Horton.� He was baptised
at Holy Cross Church on 27 February
1891.
The 1901 Census records a household of five boys and four girls ranging in age
from 17 down to 2, and a further daughter was born in July 1901.� His father was a labourer. He attended the
local school (No 337 in the School Roll) from 14
February 1894 to 15 January 1904.� He worked as a clay labourer before joining
the Royal Navy on 21 June 1909 as a stoker.� During The First World War he saw service in
HM Ships MAJESTIC, VICTORIOUS, CLEOPATRA and LION.� He was onboard the cruiser CLEOPATRA when,
over an eventful couple of days, 23-24 March 1916, she rammed and sank the
German destroyer G194 and then was damaged in collision with HMS UNDAUNTED.
After the war he saw further service in HM Ships HERCULES, SANDHURST, EMPEROR OF INDIA, MALAYA and QUEEN ELIZABETH.� There is no further trace of his employment
after 1929, but he would have certainly retired on a pension early in the
1930s.� Remaining on the Royal Fleet
Reserve strength, he would have been called up at the start of World War 2, and
was drafted to the aircraft carrier HMS COURAGEOUS.� His wife Bessie came from Noss Mayo.
Reginald Staddon was born at Holbeton on 12 March 1895, the third son and youngest of four children of
William John and Sarah Staddon.� His
father was a coastguard living in Revelstoke parish, but by the 1901 census
Sarah Staddon is shown as a widow.� After
school Reginald worked as a labourer before joining the Royal Navy on 5 May 1913.� His Record of Service indicates
that almost all his time was spent in shore establishments or depot ships, but
the available records end in 1927.� At
some time he married Lilian Kate,
daughter of John and Leah Shepherd.�� Like
Elias Horton, he would have been discharged to pension during the 1930s, and
then recalled to service for World War 2.�
He too was drafted to HMS COURAGEOUS.
On 17 September 1939, the COURAGEOUS was on
patrol in the South West Approaches south of Ireland, with an escort of only two
destroyers.� At about 6.00pm she was spotted quite
unexpectedly by the German submarine U-29.�
U-29 tracked the carrier for two hours, until the latter turned to a
favourable flying course which unfortunately allowed the submarine to
attack.� Shortly before 8.00pm U-29 fired three torpedoes
at less than 3,000 yards range.� Two hit,
and after 15 minutes HMS COURAGEOUS sank with the loss of 519 lives.� Many of the crew were Devonport RN reservists,
like Horton and Staddon who died that day aged 48 and 44 respectively.
They are remembered with honour on the Plymouth Naval
Memorial, both on Panel 34.
�� HMS COURAGEOUS
Commissioned
as Large Light Cruiser June 1917
Converted
to Aircraft Carrier June 1924 to May 1928
She
carried 36 aircraft, displaced 28,500 tons and had
a
speed of 29 knots.
Complement:
880 (including Air Group) (519 Died)
