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Picture courtesy of DNW

QSA (0) (C. E. Lower, Car: Cr: HMS Magicienne);
AGS 1902 (1) Jubaland (C. E. Lower, Lg. Car. Cr., HMS Magicienne.);
Royal Navy LS&GC EdVII. (341459 C. E. Lower, Carp. Mate. HMS Hood.)

Charles Edward Lower was born in Portsatho, Cornwall, on 16 November 1872 and entered naval service on 15 February 1897. He served in HMS Magicienne between November 1897 and June 1901, during which period he saw promotion to Leading Carpenter’s Crewman in January 1901. Awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in February 1912, he was shore pensioned in December 1912, but was re-engaged for service in 1917, serving until March 1920.

Picture courtesy of DNW

QSA (0) (J. Lyne. A.B. HMS Magicienne.);
AGS 1902 (1) Jubaland (J. Lyne. A.B., HMS Magicienne.);
1914-15 Star (187308, J. Lyne, P.O., R.N.);
BWM and VM (187308. J. Lyne. P.O. R.N.);
Royal Navy LS&GC GV, 1st issue (187308 James Lyne, P.O. HMS Vivid:)

James Lyne was born in Crediton, Devon, on 11 July 1879 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class in HMS Impregnable on 22 January 1896. Posted to HMS Magicienne as an Ordinary Seaman on 18 November 1897, he was promoted Able Seaman on 11 September 1898, and went on to witness active service off South Africa (Medal), in addition to being one of around 200 Bluejackets landed for the Jubaland operations of November 1900 to April 1901 (Medal & clasp).

Advanced Petty Officer on 1 July 1903, Lyne was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 15 August 1912, and served during the Great War in various ships and shore based establishments. He was promoted Chief Petty Officer on 1 December 1918, and was shore demobilised on 18 September 1919.

Picture courtesy of Warwick and Warwick

QSA (0) (T. Stanton A.B. H.M.S. Magicienne)
AGS 1902 (1) Jubaland (T. Stanton A.B. H.M.S. Magicienne)

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (0) (J. W. Lewis, P.O. 1st Cl: HMS Magicienne);
AGS 1902 (1) Jubaland (J. W. Lewis, P.O. 1 Cl., HMS Magicienne.);
BWM 1914-20 (134978 J. W. Lewis. C.P.O. R.N.);
Royal Navy LS&GC EdVII. (134978 J. W. Lewis, C.P.O., HMS Caesar.) official correction to ship,

Jesse William Lewis was born at Wymering, Hilsea, Hampshire on 23 August 1869. He joined the Royal Navy on 23 September 1885, giving his trade as market gardener. His promotion to Chief Petty Officer in January 1909 was steady although he was disrated on one occasion. He earned his first two campaign medals as a Petty Officer aboard HMS Magicienne, and was awarded his LS&GC medal whilst serving in HMS Caesar in September 1908.

Lewis was pensioned in August 1909. However, in May 1915 he was recalled for service, earning the single BWM for service at various shore bases until demobilised in April 1919.

Here is a photograph of HMS Magicienne

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (0) (185605 S. H. Dawe, Ord. Sig., HMS Magicienne);
AGS 1902 (1) Jubaland (185605 S. H. Dawe, Ord. Sig., HMS Magicienne);
Victory Medal 1914-19 ((185605 S. H. Dawe, P.O. Tel. R.N.);
Royal Navy LS&GC GV, 1st issue (185605 S. H. Dawe, P.O. (Tel) HMS Amphion)

Duplicates of the QSA and AGS, and most likely the Naval LG&GC, were issued to his widow on 26 March 1915.

Samuel Henry Dawe was born at Aubyn, Devonport, Devon, on 20 March 1880, and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class from Greenwich School on 8 September 1895. He served as Ordinary Signalman aboard Magicienne from November 1897 to June 1901, seeing service off South Africa and Somaliland.

He became a Petty Officer (Telegraphist) in November 1907, and joined the newly commissioned scout cruiser Amphion on 2 April 1913. By the start of the War Amphion was leader of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, assigned to the Harwich Force, defending the eastern approaches to the English Channel, under the command of Captain Cecil H. Fox. In the morning of 5 August, Amphion and the 3rd Flotilla sortied into the North Sea to patrol the area between Harwich and the Dutch island of Terschelling for German activity. At 10:15 a ship in the black, buff, and yellow colours of the Great Eastern Railway's steamers that plied between Harwich and the Hook of Holland was spotted. Fox sent the destroyers Lance and Landrail to investigate and shortly afterwards another destroyer reported that a trawler had seen a suspicious ship, 'throwing things overboard, presumably mines'. Amphion led the flotilla to investigate and observed that the fleeing ship was deploying mines even then. At 10:45, Lance opened fire at a range of 4,400 yards (4,000 m).

The target was SMS Königin Luise, a former Hamburg-Heligoland excursion boat that had been converted to an auxiliary minelayer by the Germans. They had planned to mount a pair of 8.8-centimetre (3.5 in) guns on board, but they did not have the time to do so; her only armament was a pair of lighter guns and 180 mines. On the night of 4 August, she had departed Emden and headed into the North Sea to lay mines off the Thames Estuary, which she began to do at dawn.

The fire from the destroyers was ineffective until Amphion closed to a range of 7,000 yards and began hitting the German ship at about 11:15. By noon, Königin Luise was sinking and the three British ships rescued 5 officers and 70 ratings. The flotilla proceeded onwards with their patrol until they reached the Dutch coast around 21:00 and turned for home. Fox was uncertain as to the locations of the mines laid by Königin Luise and laid a course that was seven nautical miles west of where he thought the mines were. He guessed wrongly and led his flotilla over the danger area.

At 06:35, Amphion struck a mine that detonated underneath her bridge. The explosion set her forecastle on fire and broke the ship's keel. The destroyer Linnet attempted to tow the cruiser, but a deep crack across her upper deck showed that she was hogging badly and Fox ordered his crew to abandon ship. Shortly afterwards, her forward magazine exploded, throwing one 4-inch gun into the air that narrowly missed Linnet. One of Amphion's shells burst on the deck of the destroyer Lark, killing two of her men and the only German prisoner rescued from the cruiser. Amphion then rapidly sank within 15 minutes of the explosion losing 1 officer and 131 ratings killed, including Dawe, in the sinking, plus an unknown number of the crew rescued from Königin Luise.

He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.