Current Information:

Age-22

31, Barnwood Road, Silvertown

Gibraltar (North Front) Cemetery

HMS Britannia was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy which saw service during the war in the Atlantic and Mediterranean as part of the 3rd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. She nearly made it through to the end of the war but on 9th November, 1918, when sailing off Cape Trafalgar on the southwest coast of Spain accompanied by two other warships, she was hit by a torpedo fired from the German submarine UB-50. A fire spread to the magazine, and it proved impossible to flood the area to put the fire out. It was obvious that the vessel could not be saved, and many of the crew were taken off. Just over three hours after being struck by the torpedo, HMS Britannia sank. 50 of her crew died and another 80 were injured but over 700 were saved. One of those who did not survive was William Robinson.