HARRI[E]S, George

George Harris was the son of James and Sarah Harris of 32 Greystone Street, Dudley. He enlisted in the Royal Navy and by 1914 he was an Able Seaman in HMS Good Hope. This was a heavy cruiser launched in 1902 with a complement of 900 crew. At the start of the war there was much fear that the German Far East fleet under Admiral Graf Spee would attack merchant shipping in the Pacific. Good Hope was sent to reinforce the British South American Squadron and became the flag ship of Admiral Cradock. He advanced into the Pacific but when the opposing forces met on the 1st November off Cape Coronel, Chile, the British force was seriously defeated. Good Hope was lost with all hands, including George Harris and Admiral Cradock. Able Seaman George Harris was 30 years of age and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and on the Dudley Memorial.