On the morning of 22 September 1914, just six weeks into the First World War, three Royal Navy armoured cruisers were sunk by a German U-boat in the southern North Sea. The action lasted less than 90 minutes but the lives of 1,459 men and boys were lost – more than at the Battle of Trafalgar or the sinking of RMS Lusitania. Yet, curiously, few have ever heard of the incident.

In this Members' exclusive lecture, hear from journalist, author and former naval officer, Stuart Heaver. His new book, The Coal Black Sea, tells the extraordinary true story of the disaster from the perspective of the men serving on HMS Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy, and reveals the role played in the catastrophe by Winston Churchill.

Members event first streamed live on 21 July 2022.

Watch the discussion

World War I at sea
The horrors of the Western Front are all too familiar, but did you know about the Britons who gave their lives fighting at sea in World War I?
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Away from the fleet: Royal Navy experiences in World War I trenches
When thinking of the role of the Royal Navy during the First World War we normally focus on the Grand Fleet, the Battles of the Falklands and Jutland or perhaps the Navy’s role in protecting merchant shipping from the threat of German U-Boats. But this only shows part of the First World War experience for Royal Naval personnel, some of which was not at sea at all.