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Show BRITISH WAR CHIEF AND STAFF DROWNED EARL KITCHENER MEETS DEATH WHEN CRUISER IS GUNK OFF ORKNEY ISLANDS. English Minister of War on His Way to Russia When V&jsel Goes Down, All on Board Having Lost Their Lives. London. The cruiser Hampshire has ibeen sunk, either by a mine or a torpedo, off the Orkney Islands, and all on board lost. Earl Kitchener, secretary ot Btate for war, and his staff, were aboard the Hampshire, on their way to Russia. Rus-sia. Earl Kitchener was going to Russia Rus-sia at the request of the Russian government. gov-ernment. He intended to land at Aarchangel and visit Petrograd and probably go to the Russian front. His mission had chiefly to do with tha supply of munitions for Russia. The earl expected to ibe back in London for the reopening of parliament parlia-ment on June 20. The Hampshire was sunk about 8 p. m. June 5, to the west of the Orkneys. Ork-neys. Four boats were seen to leave the ship, but no survivors have been picked up. The Hampshire was one ot the Devonshire Dev-onshire class of six cruisers. She was built in 1903, normally carried 655 men and displaced 10,850 tons. She cost $1,250,000. The Hampshire has been in use as a scout boat and for carrying officials on various missions. The Orkney islands, off which the Hampshire went down, are off the north coast of, Scotland. The Hampshire Hamp-shire was on her way into the Atlantic Atlan-tic and around the northern end of the Scandinavian peninsula into the. White sea. Earl Kitchener probably Intended to debark at Archangel. Earl Kitchener was appointed secretary sec-retary of state for war August 8, 1914, a few days after Great Britain's declaration de-claration of war on Germany. He was regarded as England's greatest soldier, sol-dier, and the decision of the government govern-ment to entrust him with supreme direction di-rection of the war was received with unanimous approval. As the war progressed and Great Britain's deficiencies in certain directions, direc-tions, particularly in regard to the shortage of artillery ammunition, became be-came apparent Earl Kitchener was subjected to severe criticism, led by Lord Northcllffe. Notwithstanding the criticism directed di-rected against Earl Kitchener, his great accomplishments during the war are recognized universally. Foremost Fore-most of his achievements is the creation crea-tion from England's untrained manhood man-hood of a huge army. At the beginning begin-ning of the war Great Britain had only a few hundred thousand trained men. Today more than 5,000,000 men are enrolled for the various branches of the service. Without his crowning achievements as the great organizer of the British campaign in the European war, Kitchener Kitch-ener had already won wide and lasting last-ing fame by his many campaigns in Egypt, South Africa and in India. He was born June 24, 1850, in County Kerry, Ireland, a - fact that gave rise to a general belief that he was of Irish 'blood, but his parents (were of French and English descent. His father was a soldier, but of no very high rank. |