Robert William Holdsworth was born on 11th February 1880 in Pilmoor, Yorkshire. The third of nine children, his parents were John and Fanny. John was a railway signalman, and, by the time of the 1891 census, the family had moved to Kirby Wiske, near Thirsk.
When he completed his schooling, Robert found work as a blacksmith. Moving away from home, by 1901, he was boarding at the Albion Foundry on New Street in Pocklington. The job, however, was a stepping stone to bigger things, and, on 28th July 1902, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Blacksmith’s Mate Holdsworth’s service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. It was also noted that he had a scar on his right elbow.
Robert was initially sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. He would spend the next year at the base, and was promoted to Blacksmith proper in April 1903. Over the twelve years of his initial contract, he would serve on board seven ships, returning to Chatham in between assignments. The 1911 census recorded him as being one of 283 crew aboard HMS Patrol, a scout vessel moored in Harwich Harbour, Essex.
In the summer of 1916, Robert married Minnie Eames. Born in Kensal Rise, London, by the time of the nuptials, her family had moved to Gillingham, Kent, where her father James worked as a night watchman. Minnie was working as a shop assistant by this point, and was living with her parents and older brother at 35 Wyles Street.
Back at work, Blacksmith Holdsworth had renewed his contract. His annual reviews noted both very good conduct and superior ability, and he had added another string to his bow – the role of Diver – in the spring of 1912. In April 1913 he was assigned to HMS Astraea, on board which he would spend the next three years. The cruiser patrolled the seas off the eastern coast of Africa, bombarding Dar-es-Salaam in the autumn of 1914.
By the summer of 1916, Blacksmith Holdsworth was back at HMS Pembroke, where he would remain for the rest of the year, barring a couple of months’ on board HMS Royal Arthur. On 2nd December Robert was feeling unwell, and was moved the Hospital Ship Garth Castles. He had suffered a cardiac arrest, but his transfer would prove too late: he died that afternoon, at the age of 36.
The body of Robert William Holdsworth was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base he had called home, and within walking distance of where his widow still lived.
(from ancestry.co.uk)
The epitaph on Robert’s headstone reads: In loving memory of Robert William Holdsworth, 1st Class Petty Officer (Blacksmith & Diver). There is no evidence in his service records for the PO rank, although this may have been an informal nod to his dual roles.
Death and Service 