Tess McTiernan has submitted the following:
Peter Lennon was born on 15 April 1892 in the Hill Top area of Dipton.
His father, John, died of typhoid fever the following year, leaving his mother, Mary Ann, with three young children to care for as best she could.
Peter signed on to the Royal Navy on 2 May 1910, at the age of 18, for a period of 12 years. His service number was K/6759 and he is described on his service record as being 5' 4¼" tall with a 38" chest, a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. The form also reports a scar on his forehead perhaps sustained at his previous job as a coalminer. Peter's first assignment was to H.M.S. Victory 11 for three weeks from 2 May 1910 until 21 May 1910. Victory 11 was not a ship - it was the Division at Portsmouth that accounted for Engine Room Artificers and Stokers. Here it seems Peter received basic training and passed his induction test to be a stoker. On coal fired ships a stoker is required to shovel coal into the furnace and to distribute the coal in order to get the optimal energy to heat the ship's boilers. At the time when Peter worked as a stoker, the job was tough, dirty and hot, requiring high levels of strength and endurance.
The 1911 census shows Peter, aged 19, in a naval barracks at Portsmouth. He served on H.M.S. Neptune, a battleship of the Royal Navy, from 11 January 1911 to 27 January 1913. After trials in the Mediterranean she became flagship of the principal British fleet, the Home Fleet, and in 1912 flagship of the First Fleet of the Home Fleets. Peter was promoted to Stoker 1st Class in September 1911.
Peter Lennon served on H.M.S. Dolphin, a submarine base and training facility located at Gosport near Portsmouth, from 15 April 1915 until 8 July 1915 and 15 November 1915 until 11 January 1916.
On 3 July 1916 H.M. S/M "E26" was operating off the estuary of the Ems River when the submarine was attacked by German forces. Both gunfire and bombs were used. E26 did not return from her patrol. The crew, including Peter aged 24 years, were all lost.
Remembered with Honour
Peter Lennon is remembered in Dipton on D46.06, in Leadgate on L65.01 and on our List of Ships’ Crews
