TOPIC:

Robert Rutherford Hogg

Carpenter’s Crew, Royal Navy (H.M.S. Powerful) – Anglo Boer War
Cooper 1st Class, Royal Navy – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal (Defence of Ladysmith) to R.R. HOGG, CAR: CR: H.M.S. POWERFUL
- British War Medal to 340625 R.R. HOGG. CPR. 1 R.N.
- Victory Medal to 340625 R.R. HOGG. CPR. 1 R.N.
- Naval Long Service & Good Conduct Medal to 340625 R.R. HOGG, COOPER, H.M.S. LATONA.

Robert Hogg was born in Melrose, Roxburgh, Scotland on 20 February 1876, the son of Thomas Hogg, a Joiner by trade, and his wife Rachel (maiden name Flint). Rachel had been married previously and at the age of 39 in the 1881 Scotland census, was considerably older than her 27 year old husband. She had brought with her into the marriage a son, James McKay, who was much beloved by Robert as will be revealed as developments in Robert’s life unfold.

At the time of the aforementioned census, Robert was a 5 year old school boy living in Abbey Street, Melrose along with his parents and James who was 17 years old – a mere 10 years younger than his stepfather.

Ten years later, at the time of the 1891 census, the family dynamic had altered drastically. Robert, now 15, was an Apprentice Joiner working for his stepbrother, James. James had married in the interim and had moved to Eaton Locon in Bedford with Robert following suit. What had happened to his parents is a matter of conjecture but, whatever the cause of their absence may have been, he had formed an unbreakable bond with the older James who he probably saw as a father figure.

On 23 April 1895 Hogg attested for 12 years service with the Royal Navy at Portsmouth. 5 feet 5 inches in height he had brown hair, gray eyes and a fresh complexion. He sported a tattoo of a crucifix on his chest and provided his occupation as Carpenter. Employed as Carpenter’s Crew, he was aboard Victory II from the day he signed up till 30 September 1895 – the next 3 days being spent in the cells. This would account for his Character rating only being Good – the remainder of his service being characterised as Very Good.


H.M.S. Powerful

His punishment served, he returned to Victory II until 7 June 1897, on which day he transferred to Powerful, the ship he was to serve on in the Anglo Boer War.

Much has been written about the role played by the Naval Brigade in the Anglo Boer War and it is not my intention to add to that already voluminous body of work – suffice it to say that, were it not for both the engineering innovation of Captain Percy Scott of the Terrible and the timely arrival of the modified guns, along with the Naval Contingent to man them, as the doors to Ladysmith were about to be shut, the outcome of the war could have been very different.

The war itself was a long time in the making – tensions between Kruger’s Transvaal and Great Britain had been rising for many years. These were accelerated by the ill-fated Jameson Raid at the end of 1896 which led to a massive armament procurement plan being put in place by the Boers. Inevitably, war was declared on 11 October 1899 with the Boers streaming into, among other places, the Colony of Natal with their ultimate objective being to reach the sea at Durban, placing them in a position to prevent any British forces from landing at the port there.

Talana and Elandslaagte came and went – both pyrrhic victories for the Imperial forces – with the remaining Regular Army and colonial volunteers falling back on Ladysmith which became the last line of defence were Natal to be saved.


Naval Gun on Convent Hill

Matters were finely poised at the very end of October 1899 – the Boer Commandos from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal had virtually encircled the small town with its garrison of 12 500 troops and a sizable civilian population. The noose was about to close and, in a last ditch effort to disrupt and repel the Boer forces, General Sir George White decided on a multi-pronged attack. This venture, known variously as the Battle of Ladysmith or Mournful Monday, was almost doomed to failure from the start – and were it not for the timely arrival of the Naval Brigade on almost the last train into Ladysmith, Ladysmith and Natal could have been lost to the Empire.

But I get ahead of myself – let me attempt, through the medium of various newspaper reports and articles written on the subject over the years – to try and provide a lucid account of how things developed. Add to this the fact that Hogg, the subject of this work, was not technically entitled to the Defence of Ladysmith clasp to his Queens Medal, and the account becomes more vivid seen through his own eyes.

As the Boers closed in on Ladysmith White found that the artillery he had at his disposal was paltry both in number of pieces and their range, to be able to provide an effective deterrent to the Boers. He sent off a hurried telegram to the Naval Officer Commanding the base at Simonstown, Cape Town with an urgent request for help. It was at this point that Percy Scott hit upon the idea to convert naval guns into land-based mobile units which could be deployed upcountry.

This was to prove a novel and effective counter to Boer artillery in a number of crucial battles that were still to be fought. The Globe newspaper, in an article published on 27 December 1899, informed its readers thus: -

“There have been a lot of conjectures in the papers about the guns of the Naval Brigade. The 4.7 inch guns at Ladysmith, taken there by H.M.S. Powerful, were put on board her from Simonstown depot, and makeshift carriages for these were made partly by our dockyard here, and partly by the engineers and carpenters of the “Powerful” on her way round to Durban from Simonstown, a two day trip.

The improvised carriages for the ships 12 pounders are also made of stout timbers and straps of iron, some by the ship and some by the dockyard, and mounted on wheels, the latter got from anywhere they could be purchased, the objective being to adapt the naval 12 pounder gun for land service by making it easy to trundle along. The conception of the makeshift carriage is, as you know, due to Captain Percy Scott of the “Terrible”, and his designs, or rather ideas, were given expression to by designs from the engineer officers and others of that ship.

There is no truth whatsoever in a statement in a West Country paper that the carriages of the guns taken to Ladysmith by the “Powerful” were made in a wheelwright’s shop at Durban. The guns and their gear went straight from the “Powerful” to Ladysmith and if they had had to wait while the carriages were being made at Durban they would never have reached Ladysmith.”

The above is not, strictly speaking true – in his own words, in his book, 50 Years in the Royal Navy, Percy Scott states clearly that – “It was heavy of course, but the guns on these heavy mountings could always keep up with any infantry regiment. At Durban, later on, when time was not so pressing, I had another carriage made, which was much lighter.”

The above is mentioned because, perhaps inexplicably, Hogg’s name was omitted from the roll containing over 280 names of the Powerful’s men who helped defend Ladysmith and yet he helped bring the gun mounts to Ladysmith. Was he there? - Remembering that in order to qualify for the clasp one had to be in Ladysmith from 3 November 1899 till 28 February 1900, both dates inclusive. No one can be sure despite a letter he wrote home to James McKay which was published in the Cambridge Independent Press of 19 January 1900. This letter, a précised version follows below, clearly puts him in Ladysmith – and in contention for the disputed clasp.

‘Letter by a Chesterton Man – Mr James McKay of Virginia House, Montague Road, De Freville Estate, Chesterton, has sent us a copy of two letters he has received lately from his stepbrother, Robert Hogg, who was an apprentice carpenter a few years ago with Messrs. Coulson and Lofts, Builders and is now doing his share of “trying to wipe the slate clean” in South Africa.’

The letter is as follows:

Naval Brigade, H.M.S. Powerful, South Africa, November 17th, 1899

“Dear Brother - I came to this ship in June 1897 and was at the Diamond Jubilee at Spithead. Then I went all round Ireland and left for China by the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Ceylon, Straits of Malacca, Singapore to Hong Kong. We were cleared for battle six weeks over the Wei-Hei-Wei and Port Arthur bother with Russia, but it was settled otherwise, and a good job too.

I don’t expect to be home before the war is over, and I think that will be May or June next year. We have all had orders to make our wills out before landing. I believe this will be a proper slaughter match, because these Boers are not a lot of Johnny Raws nor Blacks. We may have more joy when Buller and his troops get out here.”

The second letter is the one wherein intimation is made that he had been in Ladysmith. It read as follows: -

“December 20th, 1899

I have been up to Ladysmith, but was sent back with more carpenters, to prepare more gun carriages for our guns. I am pleased that brother George was not among the Mountain Battery that was captured at Ladysmith. I have been very busy from five in the morning to half past ten at night making gun carriages for 12 pounders, and the work is all heavy stuff, 9 inches by 9 inches for limbers. They fire a projectile weighing 46 lbs for about seven miles and make very accurate shooting. The 4.7 gun is the gun that deals death among the Boers. They fire lyddite shells, and where they burst it means death for fifty yards around, the fumes are so deadly poisonous. We have got ten more 12 pounders and two 4.7 ready. They go up on Friday next.


Powerful’s men defending Ladysmith

You will be thinking I’m a proper old foghorn, always blowing. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, - I remain, your loving brother, Bob.”

That Hogg, as Carpenter’s Crew, had a role to play in the adaptation and manufacture of the gun carriages is beyond dispute. What is less clear is when exactly he was “in Ladysmith” as claimed by him and when he left. Was it in the window period between the arrival of the Powerful’s Naval Contingent on the afternoon of Monday, 30 October 1899 and the official first day of the siege, in other words 3 November 1899? If this was the case then he fell out of the qualifying period for the Defence clasp although he might well have been under fire from the Boer guns!

Whatever the case may be, he felt that he should have been awarded the clasp.

Another hypothesis that presents itself is that, having been up to Ladysmith and then sent back down to make more gun carriages (as per Percy Scott’s comments) he would have been landed at Durban thereby qualifying for the award of the Natal clasp if the Defence of Ladysmith were to be denied him. Strangely there is no indication of that either leaving his clasp qualification a bit of a mystery.

Whatever the case may be, the Powerful’s Ladysmith contingent continued to distinguish themselves alongside their Regular Army and Colonial comrades in staving off a determined Boer attack at Wagon Hill on 6 January 1900, as well as taking a helping hand, despite the limited number of shells at their disposal, in numerous other sorties and skirmishes leading up to the lifting of the siege on 28 February 1900.
Their work done in South Africa, the Powerful and her Naval Brigade headed for home to a hero’s welcome. Perhaps it was “our Hogg” who was mentioned in an article in the Portsmouth Evening News of 31 May 1900. Under the banner “The Powerful’s W.O.’s – Entertained at the Naval Depot” it read (in part): -

“The Chief and Warrant Officers of the Portsmouth Naval Depot gave a banquet to officers of similar rank belonging to H.M.S. Powerful on Wednesday evening. Mr J.C. Haswell proposed the toast of the evening, “Our Guests.” He was sure, he said that every member of the Mess would not only express admiration for the services of their guests, but also for those others serving throughout South Africa.

Mr Hogg then submitted “Her Majesty’s Forces who are serving, and those who have served, in South Africa.” The splendid conduct of their comrades had proved, he said, that there still existed in the English race the fighting spirit which had animated their fathers.”

Hogg and Powerful parted company on 8 June 1900 – not long after his return to English waters. His next posting was to Duke of Wellington which is where, on 16 February 1901, he was promoted to 2nd Cooper. He served in many other ships and establishments in the years leading up to the Great War which burst onto the international stage on 4 August 1914, at which point he was aboard the Excellent as a fully-fledged Cooper. The 1911 England census has him at the house of his stepbrother, James McKay, 73 Montague Road, Chesterton. Aged 35 he is listed as a Cooper with the Royal Navy and still unmarried.

Hogg, as has been mentioned was aboard Excellent, a Royal Navy "stone frigate" (shore establishment) sited on Whale Island near Portsmouth in Hampshire, when war broke out. He was stationed there until being posted to Queen Elizabeth on 8 March 1916. The Queen Elizabeth was the lead ship of her class of five dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s, and was often used as a flagship. She served in the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet, and participated in the inconclusive action of 19 August 1916. Her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.

Taking leave of Queen Elizabeth on 15 April 1919, Hogg’s final posting before being discharged, time expired on 16 December 1919, was the shore establishment President VII (Cambridge University.) For his many years of service he was awarded the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. Being still single, he returned to McKay’s house where he took up residence once more.

The following year, 1920, he wed Charlotte Cunningham in Dublin, Ireland – taking up residence at 82 Norwich Street, Cambridge on his return to England. It was here that we find him in the 1921 England census, as a Carpenter/Joiner in the employ of Stuart & Co. of Millwall in London. Aged 45 he was many years older than his 26 year old wife. Staying with them at the time of the census was his sister-in-law, 24 year old Elizabeth Cunningham.


The Haymaker’s Arms, Old Chesterton

The Cambridge Daily News of 9 March 1939 informed their readers of his passing. In an article entitled “The Late Mr R.R. Hogg” they wrote that: -

“The death is reported of Mr Robert Rutherford Hogg, landlord of the Haymaker’s Arms, Old Chesterton, at the age of 63. Born at Melrose, Scotland, he served his apprenticeship with Messrs. Coulson and Lofts as a joiner, after which he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a carpenter, and served 25 years as a Petty Officer, including the years of the Great War. He was under Admiral Beatty on the Queen Elizabeth when the German Navy surrendered. Returning to Cambridge he was associated with naval officers who came up for special education.”

Fortunately he didn’t live to see the death of his son Lance Corporal James Joseph Rutherford Hogg, who, at the age of 21, was Killed in Action with the 2nd The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment on 6 May 1943.

Acknowledgements:

- Ancestry for census data, naval record of service and medal rolls
- Wikipedia for information on the various ships in which Hogg sailed
- The Globe for article on HMS Powerful’s guns
- 50 Years in the Royal Navy by Admiral Sir Percy Scott
- Cambridge Independent Press for letters from Hogg
- Portsmouth Evening News for report on 1900 banquet
- Cambridge Daily News for his obituary

Thank you for sharing your excellent research Rory; this was a most interesting read with great accompanying images.

Being a Naval veteran I can explain that HMS VICTORY II was a training establishment initially located at Crystal Palace/Sydenham, before moving to Portsmouth. It was a training Depot for Royal Navy Divisions.