Frederick Thomas Ford's Story.
Birkenhead News, Wednesday November 11, 1914.
On H.M.S. “Monmouth.”
Fears for Tranmere Petty Officer.
Grave fears are felt for Mr. F. Herbert, a first-class petty officer on H.M.S. Monmouth, one of the British war vessels engaged in action on November 1st in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chili. According to German and South American reports the Monmouth and the cruiser Good Hope were overwhelmed by a superior force, and after a gallant resistance, sunk. The German report states that it was impossible to save any of the Monmouth’s survivors, owing to the heavy seas.
The Admiralty has not yet issued an official report in detail of the action, and neither denies nor confirms the reports, so it may yet turn out that the disaster was not so great as is feared.
Petty Officer F. Herbert is a son of Mr. William Herbert, a corporation gas inspector, of 13, Grasville Road, Higher Tranmere. His brother, H. Herbert, is a first-class petty officer aboard H.M.S. Nemesis, now in the North Sea.