WELDING, Frank

Frank Welding was the son of William and Elizabeth Welding of Old Hill. He joined the Royal Navy before 1914 and was Leading Stoker on HMS Monmouth, an armoured cruiser of nearly 10,000 tons launched in 1901 and old enough to be in the Reserve in 1914. At the outbreak of war she joined the 4th Cruiser Squadron and was sent to the South Atlantic to stop the German East Asiatic Squadron of armed raiders led by Vice-Admiral Graf von Spee. The German vessels were more modern and equipped with more effective guns. Off the coast of Chile the forces met on the 1st November 1914 in the battle of Coronel. Monmouth was an early casualty and was sunk with the loss of all hands. Leading Stoker Frank Welding is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Plymouth and the Halesowen Memorial.