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They made the Ultimate Sacrifice
DE QUETTEVILLE, Stanley Nelson, Engineer Lieutenant, RCN, MPK: 31 May 1916, HMS INDEFATIGABLE
Engineer Lieutenant De Quetteville died when his ship, HMS INDEFATIGABLE, was struck shells from the German battlecruiser VON DER TANN during the Battle of Jutland and exploded. There were only 3 survivors of her crew of 1,019.
Medals Awarded: 1914-15 Star
Nelson De Quetteville was born in 1889 at St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands United Kingdom. Nelson left England for Canada in March 1910, on board the Empress of Britian, and bound for Saint John, New Brunswick. A qualified engineer, he enlisted in the Naval Service of Canada in 1910 and had served in the cruiser HMCS NIOBE, one of Canada’s first ships. De Quetteville was attached to the Royal Navy and served in the battlecruiser HMS INDEFATIGABLE. He was completing his professional qualifications on the ship as part of the Royal Canadian Navy’s efforts at training a cadre of engineering officers. One of six original RCN trainees, he was one of two who were present at the Battle of Jutland.
He married Phyllis Fisher of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1915. They resided at 105 Spring Gardens Road, Halifax, NS.
De Quetteville died at 16:03 on May 31, 1916, when HMS INDEFATIGABLE exploded after being hit by shellfire from the German battlecruiser VON DER TANN during the Battle of Jutland.
Lest we forget: Engineer Lieutenant Stanley N. Quetteville killed in action 31 May 1916. Age 28.
The Minister of the Naval Service, J. D. Hazen, sent his widow a letter of condolence, which read:
“I wish to express to you not only my personal sympathy, but that of the whole Canadian Naval Service, which, in his death, has lost an Officer of undoubted ability and great promise. That he died a sailor’s death, in action against the King’s enemies, and in defence of the Empire, must be to you some consolation in your great sorrow.”
From the Jersey Evening Post of Saturday 3 June 1916:
"Only son of Mr & Mrs de Quetteville of 13 David Place, St Helier, Jersey Killed in action, aged 28 years. ... The terrible news of the great naval battle has cast quite a gloom over the Island for a number of Jerseymen are known to have been serving on one or another of the vessels that have been lost. Amongst these is Engineer Lieutenant Stanley Nelson de Quetteville, only son of Mr & Mrs de Quetteville of 13 David Place. Lieutenant de Quetteville, who was 28, had taken up the profession of an engineer and some years ago decided to go out to Canada where he entered the Canadian Navy, being subsequently transferred to the Imperial British Navy. He was serving on the Indefatigable and the news of his loss has been conveyed by the Admiralty to the sorrowing parents. About 12 months ago the deceased officer was married and to the widow and to his parents we would tender our sincere sympathy in their bereavement.”
Engineer Lieutenant Stanley N. De Quetteville is Commemorated on Page 77 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. He is notable as the only confirmed Canadian casualty of the Battle of Jutland and is commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Today, Mount Indefatigable in the Canadian Rockies stands as a tribute to de Quetteville and his fellow crew members. (Source/credit: from research by Ryan Gingras)
Ships served in: HMCS NIOBE - Appointed to NIOBE 21 Jul 1910 as an Engineering Lieutenant, RCN Lent to the RN: Navy List Nov1914
First World War Casualty Index
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