Arnold Rumsby

An Able Seaman with H.M.S. Princess Irene., Arnold died on 27th of May 1915 at the age of 19. 

Arnold was born at Somerleyton on 11 March 1896, a son of Arthur and Laura Rumsby. In 1901 his family lived at Brickfield Cottages, Somerleyton. By 1911 Arnold's mother had died and his family lived at 1 Station Cottages, Somerleyton, Lowestoft, and Arnold was a bricklayer's labourer. 

On 19 December 1911 Arnold joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. When the war began he was serving on H.M.S. Magnificent. On 16 February 1915 the Magnificent was 'paid off' and Arnold was drafted to H.M.S. Princess Irene. 

In May 1915 the Princess Irene was moored in Saltpath Reach, in the Medway Estuary, between Port Victoria and Sheerness. The ship was being prepared for a mine-laying mission, and this included loading the ship with mines. At 11.37 a.m. the ship exploded catastrophically. 273 crew, including Arnold, were killed, along with another 76 dock workers and two civilians, on shore, who died as a consequence of the explosion. A Court of Inquiry concluded that the mines were being hastily primed by untrained personnel and that a faulty primer caused the explosion.