History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, we tell the story of Arthur Townsend Johnstone, a naval officer who was killed that day on HMS Defence. He is remembered on a family memorial in Hampstead Cemetery , Fortune Green Road . The Battle of Jutland took place on 31 May 1916 , off the west coast of Denmark . It was the only major fleet action of World War I and was the largest naval battle of all time. It only lasted 12 hours, but more than 6,000 British sailors were killed and 14 ships were sunk. The German loses were 11 ships and over 2,500 men. HMS Defence The battle cruiser Invincible had disabled two German light cruisers and Defence and Warrior from the First Cruiser Squadron were attempting to sink them when they were hammered by fire from the German battleships. The Defence was hit by two salvos and the rear magazine exploded, sinking the ship killing 900 men. The Warrior was set on fire, but managed to escape. Recent studies show ...