Location
IN MEMORY OF
JOHN HAROLD (DRAKE)
HIS SON
BORN SUNDAY MAY 23RD 1880
KILLED IN ACTION SUNDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 1914
H.M.S. PEGASUS, ZANZIBAR
Further Information
The CWGC record for Lieutenant J.H. Drake, reports that he was the son of Staff Comdr. C. E. Drake, R.N., and Mary Drake, of 11, Royal Naval Houses, Penge, London, England and that he is buried in Dar Es Salaam War Cemetery.
In the early morning of September 20, 1914 Pegasus was anchored in Zanzibar harbour, having left her battlegroup, which included HMS Hyacinth and Astraea, to attend to boiler and engine problems. The German cruiser SMS Königsberg launched a surprise attack on the ship. Out-ranged and out-gunned, Pegasus was incapacitated within 8 minutes and the Captain, Commander Ingles struck the colours to avoid further bloodshed. The ship sank later that day with the loss of 38 killed and 55 wounded. Six of the eight guns were salvaged and used in the land campaign until 1916 and one survives to this day outside Fort Jesus museum, Mombasa, Kenya. The wreck was sold in 1955 for £500 and broken up for scrap. [Wikipedia]
