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261959 Able Sea. Ralph Ernest Cornock Royal Navy HMS Monmouth from:Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire (d.1st Nov 1914) Ralph Cornock was a petty officer in the Coast Guard service at the outbreak of the Great War. As a reservist, he was immediately appointed to serve on HMS Monmouth, which became part of a squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Christopher Craddock that was tasked with hunting down the German East Asian Squadron of Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee. The German raiders had seriously disrupted British trade in the Pacific, and in October 1914 von Spee arrived off the west coast of South America to attack shipping there. On 1st of November 1914, the British fleet, consisting of old, slow ships, encountered the superior, better-armed German fleet off the Chilean port of Coronel. The British were routed and HMS Monmouth was sunk with all hands. Ralph was 44 years old and left a wife and four children. He was one of eight brothers who served in the Great War. He is commemorated on the Wotton-under-Edge War Memorial alongside two of his soldier brothers who were also killed in action. Please type your message:      We recommend you copy the text about this item and keep a copy on your own computer before pressing submit. Your Name:             Email Address:       @ **Please put the first part of your email, (before the @ sign) in the first box, and the second part in the second box. Do not include @, it is automatic. Do not enter your full email in each box or add an @ sign or random spaces.**