Peterborough & The Great War

Biography

Archibald Hughes was born and raised in the Headingly area of Leeds. In 1901 his father James was a boot finisher and his mother Mary (nee Rock) was a trouser finisher.  He had an older brother Charles.

Archibald enlisted in to the Royal Navy as a Boy 2^nd Class on 16 October 1908, shortly before his 16^th birthday and on reaching the age of 18, he signed up for a period of 12 years’ service, becoming an Ordinary Seaman aboard HMS Shannon.  He served for more than 20 years.    There is reference to a hand injury received in 1911, but it does not appear to have hindered him too much.  He was promoted to Able Seaman in 1912, and served on surface vessels until 1914 when he left the Battleship HMS Goliath and changed career direction toward submarines joining HMS Bonaventure, based on the Tyne.  Archibald passed through Peterborough East Station and signed the visitors’ book on 28 March 1917.  His entry reveals he was serving on Submarine H10, (attached to depot ship HMS Alecto), operating out of Yarmouth.  Three days after signing our book he was promoted to Petty Officer on the H10 which had a crew of 22 men.  The Great Yarmouth Mercury published a feature on the Submarine base in 2015.   http://bit.ly/2oUimos

He left H10 late in 1917, just weeks before H10 was lost on 19 January 1918, failing to return from patrol in the North Sea, cause unknown.

He saw out the remainder of the war with submarines including H25 and E31 and continued in the submariner’s world for the remainder of his career.   In 1927, he achieved promotion to Chief Petty Officer but his service record stops soon after.   In 1929, he received his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.  We speculate that he completed a full 22 years’ service and would have left the Navy in 1932.  He was awarded the British War and Aallied Victory medals and the 14/15 Star.

William Archibald married Lilian Newland in Portsmouth in 1938, and in 1939 they were living in Twyford Road, Portsmouth with 13-year-old Mavis Newland, Lilian’s daughter from her previous marriage.  Archibald was working in the familiar surroundings of Portsmouth Dockyard as a wharfinger. The wharfinger took custody of and was responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically had an office on the wharf or dock, and was responsible for day-to-day activities including slipways, keeping tide tables and resolving disputes. The term is obsolescent; today a wharfinger is usually called a “harbourmaster”.

William Archibald died in Portsmouth in 1960, aged 67 years and Lilian died in Portsmouth in 1975.

Could Archibald be related to you?  Do get in touch if you can tell us more.