100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

10th November 1920

Clemson-class destroyer USS Nicholas undergoing builder’s trials in the Santa Barbara Channel.


French troops accompanying the body of the Unknown Soldier through Verdun. The soldier will be buried under the Arc de Triomphe tomorrow on Armistice Day.


London: The body of the unknown British soldier arrives from France for internment in Westminster Abbey. The Unknown Warrior being removed from HMS Verdun by soldiers, a sailor and an airman.


Ship Losses:

Baltabor (United Kingdom) The passenger ship ran aground at Liepāja, Latvia. All 152 passengers were taken off. She was refloated on 7 December.
Ella L. Williams (United Kingdom) The schooner caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean (approximately 19°N 67°W) and was abandoned.
El Mundo (United States) The tanker suffered an onboard explosion and caught fire at New York with the loss of a crew member. She was beached on Ellis Island. El Mundo was refloated on 20 November.

[Jimbuna]

11th November 1920

Body of the French Unknown Soldier arrives in Paris for burial under the Arc de Triomphe.


Coffin of the Unknown Warrior lies in Westminster Abbey: © IWM Q 31518


Armoured Car Brigade of the British armed forces in Peshawar, India: © IWM Q 70593


Ship Losses:

Clan Graham (United Kingdom) The cargo ship collided with another vessel and was beached at Vlissingen, Netherlands. She was refloated on 21 November.
Ekstrand (Norway) The cargo ship foundered in the Skagerrak off Larvik, Norway.
Italian Prince (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was destroyed by fire at Limassol, Cyprus.
Lake Falk (United States) The cargo ship ran aground in the Paracel Islands. She was later refloated and arrived at Hong Kong on 23 November.

[Jimbuna]

12th November 1920

Actress Mildred Harris is granted divorce from Charlie Chaplin on ground of “cruelty.” She receives a settlement of $200,000 ($2.6 million today)


Arc de Triomphe is illuminated for Armistice Day and the 50th Anniversary of the French Third Republic.


Ship Losses:

Houthulst (Belgium) The schooner was wrecked off Smögen, Sweden.
HMS Tobago (Royal Navy) Russian Civil War, Allied Intervention: The destroyer struck a mine and in the Black Sea. She was deemed a constructive total loss.

[Jimbuna]

13th November 1920

Anti-Bolshevik forces in Crimea under Pyotr Wrangel begins to evacuate Crimea as Red Army troops continue to advance: Pyotr Wrangel and his troops withdrawing.


Opening session of The League of Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.


Ship Losses:

Baymanter (United Kingdom) The cargo ship came ashore at Ras Hafun, Italian Somaliland. She was declared a total loss on 7 December. Her crew were rescued.
Edith Pardy (United Kingdom) The schooner was driven ashore at Lamaline, Newfoundland and was a total loss.
J. A. Maclean (United Kingdom) The schooner was driven ashore at Englee, Newfoundland and was a total loss.

[Jimbuna]

14th November 1920

Lenin and his wife visiting the village of Kashino.


Ship Losses:

Ferret (Australia) The cargo ship ran aground at Reef Head, Cape Spencer, South Australia and was wrecked. All 21 crew survived.

[Jimbuna]

15th November 1920

Children’s Day at the Cenotaph: hundreds of children orphaned by the Great War visit the London Cenotaph, where the Unknown Soldier was buried four days ago, to lay flowers and pay their respects.


The Assembly meets at Geneva, where, for the first time in history, forty-one nations sit in common council; all important countries except the United States, Mexico, Germany, and Russia are present; Paul Hymans, of Belgium, is elected permanent President of the Assembly.


The Free City of Danzig is formally established to secure Poland’s access to the sea. The severing of a German-majority city from Germany causes deep resentment (the status of the city becomes the catalyst for the start of World War Two)


Ship Losses:

HMS Amethyst (Royal Navy) The Topaze-class cruiser parted tow from Eagle and Margaret Ham (both United Kingdom) in the Irish Sea off the Smalls Lighthouse. Most of her crew were taken off by the Aberystwyth Lifeboat.
Maria José (Portugal) The schooner was driven ashore at Porthcawl, Glamorgan, United Kingdom with the loss of one of her six crew. Survivors were rescued by breeches buoy.
T.30 (Reichsmarine) The torpedo boat foundered at Cuxhaven, Germany.
Nicholas (Greece) The cargo ship foundered in the Black Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off Cape Tuzla, Soviet Union. Her crew survived.
Pechiney (France) The auxiliary sailing ship caught fire and sank at Le Havre, Seine-Inférieure.

[Jimbuna]

16th November 1920

Engine room of the captured German submarine U-140 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.


Ship Losses:

Sarah Lightfoot (United Kingdom) The schooner was dismasted in the North Sea (55°22′N 0°16′W) and was abandoned in a sinking condition. Her crew were rescued by Bessheim ( United Kingdom).
HMS Tyne (Royal Navy) The troopship sprang a leak and sank in the River Medway at Chatham, Kent.
Waltraute (United Kingdom) The depôt ship was driven ashore at Leith, Lothian. She was refloated on 28 November.
Zhivoi (Russia White Movement) Russian Civil War: The Boiki-class destroyer sank at Sevastopol during a storm.

[Jimbuna]

17th November 1920

Anti-Bolshevik forces complete its evacuation of Crimea, leaving the Red Army victorious in the Southern Front.


Ship Losses:

Delta (Norway) The barque ran aground north of Bergen, Norway and was severely damaged. She was towed to Hindö for examination with the expectation that she would be condemned as a constructive total loss.
Yute (Spain) The cargo ship issued an SOS in the Atlantic Ocean 240 nautical miles (440 km) south east of Cape May, Newfoundland. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands.

[Jimbuna]

18th November 1920

After lying in wake in Westminster Abbey for a week, the body of the Unknown Warrior is buried.


The ceremony to seal the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, London, before the wreaths were removed.


Ship Losses:

K.1 (Russia White Movement) Russian Civil War: The river gunboat, a converted Bolinder-type landing barge, was scuttled.
Neptunus (Netherlands) The auxiliary schooner foundered in the Irish Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the Smalls Lighthouse after her cargo shifted with the loss of one of her five crew. Survivors were rescued by the trawler Kirkland ( United Kingdom).
Scarpa (United Kingdom) The vessel became stranded on the North Rock, Cloughey Bay, Country Down. She was raised on 23 February 1921, repaired and returned to service

[Jimbuna]

19th November 1920

Ship Losses:

Rostislav (White forces) Russian Civil War: The minesweeper depot ship, a former Rostislav-class battleship, in use by White forces under Pyotr Wrangel, was scuttled in the Kerch Strait.

[Jimbuna]

20th November 1920

The White House Thanksgiving Turkey the week before Thanksgiving Day.


Ship Losses:

General Horne (United Kingdom) The schooner departed Catalina, Newfoundland for the Change Islands. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands.
Grandest (United Kingdom) The coaster struck rocks off the Hanois Lighthouse, Guernsey, Channel Islands and sank. All twelve crew were rescued by a trawler.
Minnie Sommers (United Kingdom) The barquentine departed Bo'ness, Lothian for Cherbourg, Seine-Inférieure, France. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands.

[Jimbuna]

21st November 1920

Sir George Callaghan, Commander-in Chief of the Royal Navy home fleet who was relieved of command at the outbreak of the Great War, has passed away.


In Dublin, IRA teams led by Michael Collins (pictured) assassinate 12 British officers and intelligence team members. Three civilians are also killed, although one may have been an undercover agent.


British Black and Tans raid a football match played at Croke Park, Dublin, setting off a panic among the crowd. The British forces shoot the players and spectators, killing 14 civilians and injuring dozens. The Dublin team on Bloody Sunday.


Ship Losses:

Blenda (Sweden) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea, en route from Finland to Hull. Her crew were rescued.

[Jimbuna]

22nd November 1920

Tensions rise in Ireland following Bloody Sunday. British soldiers in the streets of Dublin.


Former King of Greece Constantine in exile in Switzerland. With the death of King Alexander last month, many Greeks are in favor of him returning.


President Wilson submits to the League of Nations the proposed border between Armenia and Turkey (however, the proposal becomes moot after Armenia surrenders to Turkey and is taken over by the Soviets.


Ship Losses:

Chausey (France) The cargo ship sank south of Belle Île, Morbihan.
Lizzie (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a rock and sank at Cherbourg, Seine Maritime, France.
Santa Rosa (Spain) The cargo ship sprang a leak and sank off Cape Prior, Galicia.

[Jimbuna]

23rd November 1920

British solders in trucks in Dublin.


A British soldier on sentry duty at a window in Dublin Castle. He is keeping a watch out for Sinn Fein's Irish Volunteers (a forerunner of the IRA) who are waging a guerilla conflict against British occupation of Ireland.


Ship Losses:

Gregory (United Kingdom) The cargo ship ran aground at Tutóia, Brazil. She broke her back on 29 November and was a total loss.
Margaret F. Dick (United Kingdom) The schooner sprang a leak in the Atlantic Ocean (41°40′N 53°42′W. She was set afire and abandoned. Her crew were rescued by Leersum ( Netherlands).

[Jimbuna]

24th November 1920

British forces conducting a search on an apprehended Sinn Feiner.


Ship Losses:

Meduana (United Kingdom) The ocean liner caught fire and capsized at Wallsend, Northumberland.
Taunton (Norway) The cargo ship ran aground in the Bahamas. She was abandoned the next day and was a total loss.