Robert Hill was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 24th June 1876. One of seven children, his parents were Thomas and Catherine. Thomas was a dock labourer, and the family lived in a tenement in Upper William Street, to the north of the city centre.
Robert was destined to be drawn to the sea and, on 30th May 1900, he joined the Royal Navy, as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with blue eyes, fair hair and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Hill was sent to HMS Pembroke for his training, and it was to the Chatham naval base that he would ultimately return between voyages. He enlisted for a period of twelve years and, over that time, would serve on six different vessels. During this time, Robert was promoted, gaining the rank of Stoker 1st Class.
When Robert’s contract came to an end, he was stood down to reserve status. His trail goes cold until May 1914 when, with war looming, he was re-engaged.
At the outbreak of war, Stoker 1st Class Hill was assigned to HMS Coquette, a D-class destroyer serving as a training ship for the navy’s gunnery school at Sheerness, Kent.
Being thrown overboard as the result of a jar caused through a liberty boat bumping into another Service Vessel, Petty Officer Hill, of HMS Coquette, lost his life at Stangate Creek as far back as March 8th, and his body having since been recovered, an inquest was held at the Royal Naval Hospital, Gillingham, on Saturday morning…
Charles Offord, stoker, HMS Coquette, identified the body as that of Robert Hill, a first-class petty officer, of the same ship. The body was quite unrecognisable, and witness was only able to identify it by the clothing and boots, and by two brass Service keys belonging tot he deceased’s ditty box and hat box. Hill was the only man of the ship with two keys. Both boxes had to be forced open, as the keys were missing. The laces found on the deceased witness identified as belonging to Hill, who purchased them ashore when witness was with him on March 8th. They went ashore from the ship to Cornwallis Pier, Sheerness, by the one o’clock boat, and were together after they landed. They returned to the liberty boat at 6:45. They had to call at other ships before reaching the Coquette, and it was while they were approaching TB9 at 8:15pm that the deceased fell overboard. At the time Hill was standing in the boat amidship on the port side, and as a result of the liberty boat striking the side of TB9 the deceased fell overboard, losing his balance in consequence of the jar. Witness was certain it was the jar that threw Hill overboard. Witness called our “Man overboard!” A strong tide was running. Every effort was made to rescue the deceased, but without result. The liberty boat went astern, and TB9 pulled her dinghy to the buoy, but could not see anything of Hill. It was a rough and windy night. Deceased could only swim a little, and he was quite sober. The dinghy went to the buoy because it was thought that the deceased might have got hold of it, but it was subsequently found that he had not done so. The searchlights were put on, and a lifebuoy was thrown to the man.
Walter Joseph Shoesmith, chief stoker, HMS Coquette, corroborated the previous witness as to the identity of the body, and added that Hill was about 39 years of age. Everything possible was done to find the deceased and rescue him, but he was not seen after he had entered the water.
Joseph Kelly, mortuary keeper at the Royal Naval Hospital, deposed that the body was brought to the mortuary from Stangate Creek, where the deceased went down. An evening newspaper, dated March 8th, and two packets of new bootlaces were found on the clothing.
[Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer: Saturday 22nd May 1915]
The body of Robert Hill was not found until some ten weeks after he fell overboard. His body was taken to Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, and he was laid to rest in the naval section of the burial ground.
Stoker Hill’s headstone incorrectly attributes his death to the sinking of HMS Bulwark in November 1914. Robert never served on that vessel, and no member of her crew had that name.
While the newspaper report gives Robert’s rank as Petty Officer, his service records record him as a Stoker 1st Class.
