| Birth | 1885, Froyle, Hants | |
| Parents | Son of William & Frances (Fanny) Webb, of Turnpike Cottages, Upper Froyle, Alton, Hants | |
| Residence | 7 Wildermuth Villas, Newport Road, Aldershot, Hants | |
| Occupation | ||
| Enlisted | ||
| Service | Royal Navy | |
| Service No: | 299777 | |
| Rank | Petty Officer Stoker | |
| Service Record | HMS Bulwark. Killed by internal explosion of vessel off Sheerness 26th Nov., 1914. | |
| Death | 26th November 1914 | Killed or died by means other than disease, accident or enemy action. Body not recovered for burial - aged 30 |
| Theatre of War | ||
| Commemoration | Portsmouth Naval Memorial | |
| Medals | 1914-15 Star, Victory Medal, British War Medal | |
| Albert Webb was born in Froyle on 4th January 1884, the son of William and Frances (Fanny) Webb of Turnpike Cottages, Upper Froyle. By 1911, Albert was a married man, living at 7 Wildermouth Villas, Lower Newport Road, Aldershot. He was a blacksmith by trade and, on 29th January 1902, had joined the Royal Navy. His service record tells us he was 5ft 4½ inches tall with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. Having signed up for 12 years, he then went into the Royal Fleet Reserve on 29th January 1914, after serving his time on a variety of ships. When war broke out, he rejoined from the reserve and, in November 1914, was serving as 299777 Petty Officer Stoker Albert Webb on HMS Bulwark. Bulwark, a battleship of 15,000 tons, was one of the ships forming the 5th Battle Squadron, whose role was to protect the South East of England from the threat of a German invasion. On the morning of Thursday, 26th November 1914, she was moored to No.17 buoy in Kethole Reach on the River Medway, almost opposite the town of Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. |
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| She had been there for some days, and many of her crew had been given leave the previous day. They had returned to the Bulwark at 7 o’clock that morning and the full complement was on board. The usual ship’s routine was taking place. Officers and men were having breakfast in the mess below deck, others were going about their normal duties. A band was practising while some men were engaged in drill. Then disaster struck. At 7.50am, a massive explosion ripped through the ship. It began with a roaring and rumbling sound, followed by a huge sheet of flame and debris shooting skywards. The ship lifted out of the water and fell back. There was a thick cloud of grey smoke and further explosions. When the smoke eventually cleared, Bulwark had sunk without trace. The explosion could be heard twenty miles away and, when rescuers rushed to the scene, there was almost nothing left for them to find. Immediately rumours began to spread - some local residents had ‘seen’ a periscope just prior to the explosion; others believed a zeppelin had dropped a bomb on the ship! However the Inquiry, which took place almost immediately, found no external reason for the explosion and a verdict of accidental death was returned on the officers and crew of HMS Bulwark. It suggested that, contrary to regulations, 275 six-inch shells had been placed close together, most touching each other, and some touching the walls of the magazine, on the morning of the explosion. The most likely cause of the disaster appears to have been overheating of cordite charges stored alongside a boiler room bulkhead, and this was the explanation accepted by the court of inquiry. Albert Webb was one of 788 men who lost their lives in this explosion. The only consolation, if you can call it that, is that as a stoker, working in the boiler room, he would have died immediately. Initially 14 men survived the disaster, but 2 died later from their injuries. In terms of loss of life, the incident remains the second most catastrophic accidental explosion in the history of the United Kingdom, exceeded only by the explosion of the dreadnought battleship HMS Vanguard in 1917 at Scapa Flow, where 843 men died. Albert Webb was awarded the 1914 Star, as well as the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Like so many of the crew of Bulwark, Albert’s body was never recovered for burial. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, panel 3, ‘Lost at Sea’. |
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| Petty Officer Stoker Albert Webb was Froyle’s first casualty of the Great War. |
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