JEWELLERY, ANTIQUE & ART AUCTION Tuesday, 25 February 2020 - 10:00 AM start

J. H. Heffer (Petty Officer Royal Navy)

Lot Details

'Sinking of "Mainz" Heligoland Bight, August 28th 1914', oil on canvas, 670 x 885mm, titled lower centre, signed lower left 'J. H. Heffer R.N'. Note: P/O J. H. Heffer R.N. served on the H.M.S. Euryalus and personally witnessed the scenes he painted. In this way, his works are unique. Euryalus was an armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy around 1900. She became flagship of the Southern Force defending the eastern end of the English Channel and was present at the Battle of Heligoland Bight a few weeks after the war began. S.M.S Mainz was a Kolberg class light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) during the First World War. She had three sister ships, SMS Kolberg, Cöln and Augsburg. Built at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin she was launched in January 1909 and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in October the same year. Armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns she had a top speed of 25.5 kn. After her commissioning, she served with the II Scouting Group, part of the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet and was assigned to patrols off the island of Heligoland at the outbreak of World War I in early August 1914. At the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914, the German patrol forces were attacked by superior British forces, including five battlecruisers and several light cruisers. Mainz was initially stationed in support of the forces on the patrol line. She attempted to reinforce the beleaguered German forces and encountered the much stronger force of British vessels. They scored several damaging hits with gunfire and a torpedo that disabled Mainz and prompted her commander to abandon ship. The British rescued 348 men from the crew before the ship rolled over and sank. 89 men were killed in the battle, including her commanding officer.