Arthur George Jameson

Lieutenant-Commander Arthur George Jameson, R.N. (30 September, 1883 – 23 November, 1914) served in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in Dublin, the third son of Robert W. Jameson, Arthur Jameson gained three and a half months' time on passing out of Britannia in May, 1900. He was appointed to the first class protected cruiser Theseus in the Mediterranean. He remained in the ship until (the end of?) 1902, at which time he was appointed to the battleship Repulse, which was part of the Channel.

On 3 August 1903 he was made a Sub-Lieutenant and then underwent examinations, obtaining a third class in Navigation, and first-class certificates in Pilotage, Gunnery and Torpedoes.

From 22 June to 1 November 1904 he served in the destroyers Arun and Waveney. He spent eight and a half months in Ariadne on the North America and West Indies Station before being placed in the first class protected cruiser Royal Arthur on 20 July 1905. He was soon promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 July, 1905, but a career change came on 30 September when he was appointed to Thames for a submarine course. He remained in this appointment until 15 March 1907, which suggests it involved service in submarines. On 15 March, he was placed in command of one of the submarines, but it is not specified which one.

On 18 May 1908 he was appointed in command of C 2. He left her on 11 January, 1911 when he was appointed to the dreadnought battleship H.M.S. Neptune.

On 29 February 1912, he was admitted to Portland Hospital to be treated for epididymitis and orchitis. He was found fit on 8 April, and on 10 April he was sent to Portsmouth for the first-ever War Staff Course. On 2 July, he joined the staff of R/A Dundas in the battleship Prince George for the Annual Manoeuvres of 1912.

After a year in Antrim for wireless signalling duties, Jameson was placed in command of the submarine D 6 and soon thereafter moved to command her sister, D 2 before promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 30 July, 1913.

Jameson was still commanding D 2 at the start of the war. An appointment to command E 7 in November was cancelled, and he was mentioned in despatches "for submarine services in early stages of the war" on 23 October 1914. But his time was short, as he was lost overboard from the bridge of D 2 in late November 1914, in foul weather off Harwich.

Jameson's grandson, Robin Jervis-Read, emailed on 21 August, 2020 and related:

I heard a story from my brother and I don’t know where he had heard it. Apparently my grandfather’s great coat was recovered from the sea and that there was what appeared to be a bullet hole in it. This would indicate that an enemy submarine had surfaced without his knowledge and that enemy person/s had shot him. This is different from being lost overboard. I would be most grateful for any light that can be thrown on this issue. It has always bothered me that he was incorrectly classified. Killed in action against the enemy might be more appropriate if this is true.

It appears unlikely that more information along these lines will emerge. One of the sticking points for the surviving family, as further correspondence through 25 August revealed, is that though the Navy started paying a pension to Jameson's widow, the government intervened and stopped this, as no body had been found. Though this was eventually rectified, the payments were never corrected for inflation and had lost much of their value.

However, Jameson's Service Record indicates that a report of the details of his loss is to be found in "R.O[?]. Paper 𝓍 2472/14". My interpretation of Robin's story is that it sounds improbable, but would make discovery of the document alluded to in Jameson's Service Record illuminating. I am unsure whether I have transcribed its name correctly, especially the odd glyph I chose to represent by a scripted "X".

D 2 would herself would be lost two days later off Borkum.

See Also

• Service Records
• Wikipedia

Naval Appointments
Preceded by ?	Captain of H.M.S. C 2 18 May, 1908 – 11 Jan, 1911	Succeeded by Ernald G. H. Master
Preceded by Max K. Horton	Captain of H.M.S. D 6 11 Mar, 1914 – 23 Mar, 1914	Succeeded by Robert C. Halahan
Preceded by Edward C. Boyle	Captain of H.M.S. D 2 23 Mar, 1914 – 23 Nov, 1914	Succeeded by Clement G. W. Head