Sailors on HMS Defender paused their maiden deployment in the Gulf to recall sacrifices made 100 years ago this week.

Sailors on HMS Defender paused their maiden deployment in the Gulf to recall sacrifices made 100 years ago this week.

The destroyer held a service of remembrance in the Gulf to mark the battles of Heligoland Bight and Néry in the opening days of WW1 – battles with which the warship has present-day connections.

Pictures: LA(Phot) Dan Rosenbaum, HMS Defender.

HEROES on the high seas and heroes on the Western Front were honoured by HMS Defender as the destroyer remembered two Great War battles 100 years ago this week.

On August 28 1914 the Portsmouth-based warship’s forebear found herself in the maelstrom of the Battle of the Heligoland Bight – the first major clash between the two biggest navies in the world, Britain’s and Germany’s.

Four days later on the Western Front, British gunners fought an unequal battle with the German Army as the latter bore down on Paris – a clash which has an unusual link with today’s Defender.

Lt Cdr Benjamin Keith in his cabin with a portrait of his great grandfather, VC winner George Dorrell

In the clash at Néry, three dozen miles northeast of the French capital, the field guns of L Battery Royal Horse Artillery were knocked out one after another by a bombardment from heavier German cannon.

As the British guns were silenced, the last remaining 13 pounder continued firing under the command of Battery Sergeant-Major George Dorrell until it ran out of ammunition, before British cavalry mounted a charge and repelled the Germans.

Three VCs were awarded for the crew of that last gun, including to the sergeant-major.

The Great War-vintage HMS Defender

A century later and a portrait of Lt Col George Dorrell VC – he was subsequently awarded a field commission and went on to become a company commander in the Home Guard – can be found in the cabin of Defender’s executive officer, Lt Cdr Benjamin Keith, Dorrell’s great, great grandson.

“My family are travelling to Néry for the anniversary of the battle, to honour the brave people who fell. Unfortunately I can’t attend, as I am deployed on operations until the end of the year,” said Lt Cdr Keith, whose ship is nearing the half-way point of her maiden deployment east of Suez.

“I am immensely humbled by my great grandfather’s achievements and feel it is only fitting that we have paused to remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I.”

That pause was a service of commemoration in the destroyer’s hangar, led by Defender’s chaplain Michael Meachin.

Damage caused by one of five hits suffered by the minehunter D8 during the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914. The captain, Oberleutnant zur See Weiffenbach, was killed by one of the rounds

“In paying tribute to those who fell during World War I, it is important always to look to the future with hope. We paused to remember the huge human sacrifice of the Great War. We give thanks to our forefathers who gave their lives so that we could live ours in freedom today.”

The ship’s Commanding Officer, Cdr Phil Nash, added: “It is with great pride that we serve today on HMS Defender while contributing to the UK’s security and pause to think of those serving on the ship bearing the same name 100 years ago and the sacrifices they made for us.”

The battle honours board outside his cabin contains three names from the 1914-1918 conflict – impressive considering she was a mere 770 tons (ten times smaller than the current Type 45 destroyer).

Lt Cdr Keith on watch in Defender's hi-tech operations room

The first of those three honours was earned at the Heligoland Bight, just a couple of dozen miles from the German mainland.

On August 28 1914, superior Royal Navy forces attempted to wipe out enemy cruisers and destroyer’s in the German Navy’s ‘back yard’.

For the cost of 35 dead, the British force sank three German cruisers, two torpedo boats and the destroyer V187.

The latter found herself trapped by eight Royal Navy destroyers, including HMS Defender, which stopped to pick up survivors when the German ship sank, echoing the words of Nelson 109 years earlier: humanity after victory.

The Great War vintage Defender survived WW1, succumbing only to the breaker’s yard in 1921. Her modern-day namesake is on patrol until December when she returns to her native Portsmouth.