A copy of the WWI telegram from 10 Downing Street, London announcing the sinking of armed cruiser HMS Hampshire by a German mine off Orkney, Scotland, on 5th June 1916. Of the 667 officers and men on board, only 12 survived. It was carrying Field Marshall Lord Kitchener, (of 'Your Country Needs You' poster fame), a key figures in World War One. He was heading for talks with the Tsar of Russia, accompanied by Hugh James O’Beirn a fluent Russian speaking diplomat . The difficult to read telegram is initialed (not signed) by Lloyd George, then Secretary of State for War, soon to become PM.

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Size: 3981px × 5315px
Photo credit: © Colin Waters / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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