HMS 'Welland', with flags at half-mast RMG PW1854, William Lionel Wyllie

HMS 'Welland', with flags at half-mast
Inscribed by the artist, 'Welland', lower right. The 'Welland' was a torpedo-boat destroyer of the 'River' class, later known as the 'E' class, and was built by Yarrow's and completed in July 1904. She is shown here, in port-side view on moorings, in the period 1909-11 when she was serving in the Home Fleet. Note that her jack and ensign are at half-mast: while one can only guess why, it could be at the time of the death of King Edward VII in 1910. In November 1911 she commissioned for service on the China Station and remained there until after the outbreak of war in 1914, when she transferred to the Mediterranean. She remained in the Mediterranean throughout the war.