RICHARD
JAMES EDWIN BRADBEER
Died 11th
July 1917
Richard James
Edwin Bradbeer was born on 23rd May 1898, the son of James and Eugenie Bradbeer
of High Street, Cullompton. He attended school in nearby Uffculme. Prior to the
outbreak of war he worked as a clerk, but on 8th June 1916 he enlisted in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve for the duration of the hostilities. He was
described as being 5 ft 8˝ inches tall with brown hair, blue eyes and a dark
complexion.
After several
postings Bradbeer, with the rank of Able Seaman, joined HMS President III on
20th March 1917. President was a shore based establishment used to train gunners
for deployment on defensively armed Merchant vessels. Merchant shipping had long
since become a prime target for enemy U-boats in an attempt to cut supply lines
and troop transport routes, with the German government announcing the adoption
of a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917. By the end of the
war over 3,000 merchant ships had been lost, with the loss of over 17,000 men.
Able
Seaman Bradbeer became one of two gunners on the merchant ship SS Obuasi, the
other gunner being Leading Seaman David Richardson who came from Chesterfield.
The plight of the Obuasi, her captain, Bradbeer and Richardson are documented in
The Official History of the War – The Merchant Navy (Volume III) (1929):-
“On the 8th [July 1917] the
Obuasi (4,416 tons) was accompanying the Onitsha (3,921 tons) from the west
coast of Africa to Liverpool. Both ships had called at Dakar to be fitted with
guns, but as there were not enough to go round, a 12-pounder was mounted in the
Obuasi, and the two ships make the homeward voyage in company. At noon the
Obuasi was struck by a torpedo, which flooded the stokehold and put the engines
out of action. Simultaneously two submarines were sighted, and the master, Mr.
Percy Sola, ordered the crew into the boats. He himself, with the two gunners D.
Richardson and R. Bradbeer, remained on board, retaining the gig for their own
use, and commenced firing at the submarine which was chasing the Onitsha. They
fired five shots, and Onitsha got away safely. Two more torpedoes were then
discharged at the Obuasi, the first one passing under her, and the second
striking her and causing her to list considerably. The master and gunners then
took to the gig, and the submarine came alongside and made them prisoners; it
then fired some shots into the Obuasi, which soon afterwards sank. The
self-sacrifice of Captain Sola and his gunners was highly and deservedly
commended, as by remaining on board and firing their gun they diverted the
submarines’ attack upon themselves, and undoubtedly saved their sister ship.
The gunners received mention [in dispatches], and the master the D.S.C.
[Distinguished Service Cross]. The rest of the crew were picked up the same
evening by a destroyer, and landed at Queenstown.”
Whether
Bradbeer and Richardson sustained injuries during the engagement is not known,
but both died three days later, on 11th July 1917, as prisoners of
war. Captain Sola survived.
Richard Bradbeer and David Richardson have no graves but both are commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial. Richard Bradbeer is also remembered on one of the scrolls in the memorial window in the Baptist church in Cullompton, and on the war memorial in the church at Uffculme.