Heroes of Heligoland
Exploits of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla, 1918 – narrated by James Lawson
Midshipman Adam spent his “gap year” between school and university serving with the 20th destroyer flotilla based out of Immingham. He kept a diary at the time, and years later edited it as a manuscript covering his experiences of the war.
The 20th destroyer flotilla were specialist high-speed minelayers. Their modified destroyers could cross the North Sea under cover of darkness, lay mines in German waters then return safely before daylight – or that was the plan.
The flotilla laid a total of 23,136 mines in the course of the war.
Admiral Beatty acknowledged their role in keeping the High Seas fleet bottled up in harbour by inviting them to the surrender pageant on November 21st 1918.
Adam served on three ships in the flotilla – HMS Vehement, HMS Sandfly and HMS Venturous.
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Vehement
1. A First Appointment
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2. Immingham
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3. HMS Vehement
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4. The 20th Flotilla and its mission
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5. Ships of the flotilla
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6. A tour of “Vehement”
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7. Setting Sail
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8. Out to sea
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9. Signal flags
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10. On watch flags
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11. Dangerous Skaggerak
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12. Manoeuvres in the dark
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13. Minelaying stations
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14. Heading for home
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15. Transferred to Sandfly
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Sandfly
1. A Little Ship
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2. First Operation
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3. Back in harbour
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4. Days in harbour
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5. The ZZZ
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6. Jutland Bank
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7. A deserter!
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8. Bighters bit
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9. First Explosion
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10. Second Explosion
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11. A close scrape
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12. Ill met by moonlight
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13. On tow
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14. Scuttle
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15. Analysis
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16. Memorial service
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17. A new type of mine-laying – W.P. Operations
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18. More W.P. Operations
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19. Magnetic Mines
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20. Transfer to Venturous
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Venturous
1. HMS Venturous
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2. Mal de mer
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3. Try again
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4. Leave in London
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5. Stopping up U-boats in Ostend . . .
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6 . . . and Zeebrugge
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7 Damaged by a runaway submarine
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8 Blue-eyed boys
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9 Leave in Scotland
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10 Christening
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11 German Army in retreat
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12 Armistice
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13 Surrender of the German Fleet
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