When war was declared in 1914, the FAUVETTE was lying at Bordeaux and brought the residents of the British colony from that port back to England. She then returned and acted as despatch vessel during the period the French government remained at Bordeaux. In 1915 she took all the necessary submarine boom defence equipment to the island of Mudros, laying it across the approaches to the harbour. During the Dardanelles campaign she served as a fleet auxiliary, carrying troops to and from Gallipoli and Salonika. On 9 March 1916 she was steaming towards the Thames in her employment as an armed boarding steamer, when she struck two mines off the North Foreland in quick succession. The ship went down in four minutes, drowning two officers and twelve naval ratings. Cdr. Wilson and the remaining members of the crew got away in the two port lifeboats. Year Built: 1912 Builder: Sir Raylton Dixon and Co. Engine HP: 534 Propulsion: Screw, 3 cylinder triple expansion Boilers: 3 Owner: Royal Navy Master: Cdr H J T Wilson RNR Crew Lost: 14 Passengers: 0 Date of Loss Qualifier: A Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index: DOD.1990 Ed. p238; LCWLR.1914-18 p37; LR.1914-15 No.125(F); BMS. 1914-18 p104; MOD(N).Hyd.Wk.No.012404445

<1> United Kingdom shipwreck index, Page Nos. N/a (Bibliographic reference). SKE6340.