BRIDGWATER, Arthur Clifford

Arthur Bridgwater was the son of Arthur and Elizabeth Bridgwater of 57 High Street, Brierley Hill, and attended King Edward’s School in Stourbridge. He volunteered for the Naval Volunteer Reserve and served as a telegrapher on board HMMS Blackmorevale. This was a Hunt class minesweeper of 750 tons. In the Spring of 1918 it was patrolling the Scottish coast when on the 1st May it struck a mine off Montrose. The vessel sank quickly and Ordinary Telegrapher Arthur Bridgwater was among those who lost their lives. He was 20 years of age and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and on the Brierley Hill, Brierley Hill church and King Edward VI College, Stourbridge, Memorials.