More about James Carron Marnie

James C Marnie was born in Dundee and was the son of Mr James M and Mrs Fanny M Marnie, Dulce Domum, Denvilles, Havant, Hampshire. He volunteered to join the Royal Naval Reserve in Portsmouth in September 1909 and he was employed as a Merchant Seaman in foreign going ships. He was recalled to service in July 1914 and drafted to the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Bulwark. A powerful internal explosion ripped Bulwark apart just before 8am on 26 November 1914 while she was moored west of Sheerness in the estuary of the River Medway. All of the ship’s officers were killed in the explosion and only nine ratings survived. A total of 741 men were lost. Only about 30 bodies were recovered after the explosion. The explosion was believed to have been caused by the overheating of Cordite charges that had been placed adjacent to a boiler room bulkhead. In terms of loss of life, the incident remains the second most catastrophic accidental explosion in the history of the United Kingdom. James C Marnie is named on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial on Southsea Common, Portsmouth, Hampshire.