Next of Kin Memorial Plaque

Next of Kin Memorial Plaque. Uniface: Britannia standing (half-right) holding a trident in her right hand and a laurel wreath in her extended left; at her feet a lion (right). In the background, two dolphins and a branch of oak. At the base, a lion (left) devours an eagle. Legend: 'HE: DIED: FOR: FREEDOM: AND: HONOVR'. On a rectangular plaque: 'GRAHAM FRANCIS JAMES TROUNSON'. Midshipman Trounson was killed in action in 'HMS Good Hope' at the Battle of Coronel, 1914. These plaques were issued to the relatives of those killed in the First World War or dying as a result of the conflict within seven years of the cessation of hostilities.

Midshipman Graham Francis James Trounson (1897-1914) was the only child of Francis Thomas Trounson and his wife Kate, daughter of Thomas Martin. Through his mother, he was a descendant of George Graham, who was associated with the beginnings of the Naval Observatory. He was educated at the Whitgift School Croydon and later joined the 'Mersey' training ship for White Star officers. In 1911, he became a cadet in the Royal Naval Reservee.
At the start of the First World War, Trounson was a probationary Royal Naval Reserve midshipman in the armoured cruiser HMS 'Good Hope', flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Chrisopher Cradock's small British squadron in the eastern Pacific. On 1 November 1914 this was overwhelmed by the more powerful German Pacific squadron of Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile. Both the 'Good Hope' and the armoured cruiser 'Monmouth' were sunk - the former exploding - and there were no survivors from either ship, a combined loss of 1,654 men.
He is also known to have worked on P&O liners.

Object Details

ID: MEC2689
Collection: Coins and medals
Type: War medal
Display location: Display - Forgotten Fighters
Creator: Unknown; Carter-Preston, Edward
Events: World War I: Battle of Coronel, 1914; World War I, 1914-1918
People: Trounson, Graham Francis James
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Overall: 120 mm
Parts: Next of Kin Memorial Plaque
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