British armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire visited Padang, Dutch East Indies in 1914

The Jaarboek van de Koninklijke Nederlandsche Zeemacht 1913-1914 reported that the British armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire visited Padang, Dutch East Indies on 7 September 1914. The Dutch newspaper Bataviaasch nieuwsblad dated 15 August 1914 reported that her commanding officer was captain H.W. Grant. The Dutch Provinciale Drentsche en Asser courant dated 9 September referred to American newspapers which reported the arrival of 2 heavily damaged cruisers both with 4 funnels and a large number of wounded on board arriving on 13 August at Hong Kong which were the Hampshire and Minotaur or the French armoured cruisers Duplex and Montcalm after a battle with the German armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau 3 weeks earlier. Berlin, London and Paris denied such event. The German ships met their fate in the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914. Except for this apparently fake news item reported the Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië dated 17 October that the Hampshire destroyed the British cruiser SMS Emden. She was however destroyed by the HMAS Sydney on 9 November 1914. The item dated 3 November referred to a personnel account of a Japanese cruiser visiting Colombo, Ceylon hunting the Emden which according to rumors sunk after striking a mine laid by the Emden. The day after the Japanese cruiser departed arrived the Hamsphire (called a battleship by the journalist) and the next day a smaller Japanese cruiser for coal bunkering and leaving afterwards. In the evening was gunfire heard at sea and the Hampshire returned the next day with 23 Japanese wounded sailors. Neither of the Japanese cruisers returned. The Sumatra-bode dated 17 October reported that the Hampshire destroyed the Emden.

Note

1. Part of Devonshire-class armoured cruisers preceded by Monmouth-class succeeded by Duke of Edinburgh-class, laid down by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, England on 1 September 1902, launched on 24 September 1903, completed on 15 July 1905 and sunk underway towards Russia when striking a mine laid by a German submarine on 5 June 1916.