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Lt. John Lyttle
Royal Navy HMS Duke of Albany
from:Fleetwood, Lancs
My grandfather, John Lyttle, was on the Duke of Albany which was taken into the Navy in 1914 as an armed boarding steamer, stopping neutral shipping to search for contraband headed for Germany despite the blockade. She was torpedoed on 25th August 1916 off the Pentland Skerries by UB27. Many crew died but he survived and lived through a second torpedo sinking in 1918 on the Lord Charlemont. We have a cup, saucer and plate monogrammed 'HMS Duke of Albany' with my grandfather's initials JL in gold on the cup.
Interestingly, my great grandfather, Robert Lyttle, who sailed in the same ferry company that had the Duke of Albany built in 1907, also sailed in this ship. We have his Master's certificate from 1885 and the licenses starting in 1892 he held for taking specified ships across the Irish Sea. The last ship on that list is the Duke of Albany.
