British Special Service Squadron – May 1924

Date published 23/05/2024

In this ongoing blog series, the National Museum of the Royal Navy is following the route of the British Special Service Squadron during the centenary of its voyage. In this entry we discuss its travels to New Zealand and across the Pacific Ocean. 

Content warning – historic image of Māori peoples which may now be seen to have been taken in exploitative circumstances. 

During May 1924 the Squadron was separated, visiting many different locations.

Detail of the World Cruise. RMM 1982/87/a006 – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy

Wellington, North Island 24 April – 8 May 1924

The battle cruisers HMS Hood and Repulse, with the Australian cruiser HMAS Adelaide arrived at Wellington on 24 April 1924. They met with HMS Chatham, which was being commissioned for New Zealand service, and with the Governor General, Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa. 

The arrival had been timed in advance of ANZAC Day, the annual commemoration on 25 April for Australian and New Zealand service personnel at   Gallipoli in 1915  . At the Cenotaph in Wellington, the Governor-General conveyed a message from the King and Queen and then continued:

“I am sure they appreciate the presence in our midst of Vice Admiral Sir Frederick Field, the officers and men of the British Squadron, and of the Royal Australian Navy. The former represent the Navy which worked with the men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on the Gallipoli Peninsula… the latter stand for the other and larger part of that Anzac force.” Scott O’Connor, 1925

ANZAC Day is still commemorated every year, with ceremonies in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, at the Cenotaph in London and here at the National Museum of the Royal Navy with HM Monitor 33, the last surviving ship from Gallipoli. Our service this year can be viewed on YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/UkWcWMWyYPkANZAC Day Service – Thursday 25th April 2024

The battleships stayed at Wellington until Wednesday 7 May 1924. Lord Jellicoe then sailed in HMS Hood, invited by Vice-Admiral Field. HMS Hood and HMAS Adelaide made a visit to Napier while HMS Repulse proceeded independently to Gisborne before sailing to Auckland. 

Lyttleton (Whakaraupō), South Island 26 April – 8 May 1924

Meanwhile, the light cruisers sailed from Sydney on 26 April 1924, with HMS Delhi at the front. Most of the cruisers were bound for Lyttleton Harbour (Whakaraupō) near Christchurch. At Lyttleton, 24,200 visitors were received by HMS Delhi, Danae and Dragon before they sailed for Napier on the east coast of North Island, where HMAS Adelaide and HMS Hood joined them.

HMS Dauntless off the Foveaux Strait on route to South Island, New Zealand. RNM 2015/175/4 – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Dunedin and Bluff Harbour, South Island 26 April – 8 May 1924

HMS Dauntless and HMS Dunedin had parted company from the other light cruisers outside Sydney Heads and continued to Dunedin, arriving on 1 May 1924. The passage was rough with hurricane force winds blowing during the last part of the trip. Once in Dunedin, an official dinner and a Navy League dance formed part of the ceremonies.

HMS Dauntless then sailed on to Bluff Harbour on Sunday 4 April. Captain Round-Turner wrote:

“At 3.30 we sailed for Bluff, leaving the Dunedin behind… the weather was comparatively kind, but it is a vile part of the world from a sailor’s point of view, lonely, barren, unfrequented, unlighted and badly charted… my recollections of Bluff and what I saw of the country round are much the same as those which I have of a rain-soaked Scapa Flow, but I know that it would be quite unjust to say that was the real character of the country”. (RNM 2015/175/4)

Western charts and means of navigation in this area were still being improved and created. Māori peoples had instead navigated by stars, rather than charts. The Māori star compass (Te kapehu whetū) is a system of separating the 360 degrees around a canoe into sections (houses). The excerpt above demonstrates how, thus far, the indigenous population’s understanding and knowledge of their lands had been somewhat discounted.

Overall, it was a brief and peaceful two-day visit to Bluff Harbour. HMS Dauntless then sailed again, meeting HMS Dunedin off Dunedin Heads on 8 May 1924 to jointly continue their voyage directly up to Auckland.  

Auckland 10 – 18 May 1924

When HMS Hood arrived in Auckland, Lord Jellicoe left the ship and returned to Government House. The whole city was decorated with flags and the important buildings were lit up in honour of the Squadron’s visit. The formal ceremonies were observed, and the Naval Brigade marched through the city. Hood and the other ships of the squadron were placed in ‘At Home’ status and received visitors. The ‘At Home’ status was a relic of a Victorian and Edwardian social custom, when a household would be available to receive visitors; it was considered impolite to visit on other days without an invitation when the host might be out.

At this time, the New Zealand Naval Forces were under the control of Commander-in-Chief, China and therefore directly part of the Royal Navy, unlike Australia whose Royal Australian Navy (RAN) began in 1911. In 1909 the Admiralty had proposed the development of a Pacific Fleet; the increase in German naval development during this period had encouraged the establishment of the RAN. Control of the China station had transferred to New Zealand after its formation. HMS Dunedin was officially transferred to this New Zealand Division on 10 May after the squadron’s arrival, taking the place of HMS Chatham. The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) would not be formally established until 1 October 1941, when the service was recognised as independent of the Royal Navy.

As part of the visit a group of officers and men visited Rotura, where they stayed in the Grand Hotel as guests of the New Zealand Government. Their visit included a trip to a nearby Māori village, Ohinemutu.

Maoris, including a Chief, at Rotorua at Rotorua, album kept by Stuart Bonham-Carter, HMS Delhi. RNM 1981/899/240 and RNM 2015/175/4 – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

There is no confirmed identified iwi (kinship) connection in the photograph, but Ohimemutu is the home of the Ngāti Whakaue tribe. The image has been included to acknowledge the Māori peoples as hosts to the officers and men of the ships who visited them. We would like to hear from anyone who could help us describe this image more appropriately. 

“An elderly man clothed in a skirt of black and white straws (really seisil   [sisal grass]) appeared brandishing his wooden sword and uttering horrible challenges. He laid three sticks on the ground, indicating we might advance in peace… the Chiefs came forward in turns beginning “Haere Mai, Haere Mai, Haere Mai welcome, welcome, welcome” and then continued “welcome great sailors from over the seas. We bid you welcome in the name of the great Māori race” They told of how the Māori first came to New Zealand in canoes, how we were their brothers because we too had come in ships and went on to assure us of everlasting loyalty and devotion to the empire.” Captain Round Turner, RNM 2015/175/4.

This excerpt belies the complex history of British settlers in New Zealand during the mid-19th century and their relations with the Māori people.  Māori servicemen had served in the First World War in the Gallipoli campaign, and as part of the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion. Following the War, there was some political recognition for the Māori peoples, and the Board of Māori Ethnological Research had been established in 1923. However, the treatment of Māori people continued to be poor and visits to them such as this were more for touristic value than for respect. Today the issue of visiting of indigenous populations as a tourist stop is regarded as less acceptable, but it was common for Royal Naval personnel on this tour and in naval service at this time generally.

Suva, Fiji 21 May 1924

The Squadron departed for Suva, the capital of Fiji on Sunday 18 May 1924 after a gale postponed the sailing of the squadron. This was the first time all the ships had been together since their visit to Hobart, Australia in April. The late start meant the squadron put on a good pace, doing 15 ½ knots to make up time meaning they did make good progress. 

On their arrival at Suva, 21 May 1924, their entrance was carefully planned:

“The Dauntless is going in first, with Danae following, the two B.C.s [battlecruisers] at 1.45 followed by Delhi and Dragon.” Captain Round Turner, RNM 2015/175/4

The crews were given a welcome (meke) which included the ceremonial preparation of kava from the roots of the Yaqona plant; their indigenous hosts prevailed upon the Admirals to drink it. All other formalities were also observed, with a ceremonial march through the town on 24 May 1924.

The Squadron sailed Tuesday 27 May 1924:

“This evening, we cross the 180th meridian, and so tomorrow is also Tuesday, giving us 8 days this week instead of the usual 7. Of course, this event has been a topic of interest for days past. We have the unusual experience of having 367 days in one year”. Wilfred Woolman RNM 1999/31

After anchoring briefly off Samoa, for just an hour and a half on 29 May 1924, the ships set off across the Pacific for Honolulu, Hawaii. The sailors had clearly enjoyed their time in the southern hemisphere and 141 were recorded as having ‘run’, (going absent without leave).

“There have been a good many desertions in the S.S.S [Special Service Squadron], mostly in Australia but a few in New Zealand. The B.C.s [battle cruisers] lost 70 men between them and the L.C.s [Light Cruisers] an average of about 12 each. I have lost fewest of all, 7 and they were all men that Australia is quite welcome to!! Three went in Sydney and four in Brisbane, it is the high wages that attract them.” Captain Round Turner, RNM 2015/175/4 

Come back next month to hear about the next leg of the squadron’s journey. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the British Special Service Squadron you can search our Collection.

Search our CollectionSources and further reading

RNM 2015/175/4 Letters of Captain Charles Round-Turner to his wife. 1923-1924

RNM 1981/899/240 Album kept by Stuart Bonham-Carter, HMS Delhi) page 67

RNM 1999/31. Woolman, Wilfred. Typescript transcription of a diary kept by Wilfred as Schoolmaster in HMS Repulse during the world cruise of the Special Service Squadron, 27th November 1923 – 29th September 1924.  Transcript by his son Aubrey Woolman

Scott O’Connor, Vincent Clarence.  The Empire Cruise. Riddle, Smith & Duffus, 1925 
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