THE race for naval supremacy at sea between Britain and Germany took on a new dimension in the first decade of the 20th century with both countries embarking on a warship building programme that would eventually lead to a bloody sea battle between the British Grand Fleet commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and the German High Seas Fleet at Jutland in 1916.

Prior to this epic naval engagement the British Fleet regularly flexed its muscles around the UK coast in the build up to war.

A massive Royal Navy Fleet made up of units from the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Home fleets anchored in the bay and Falmouth harbour on July 10, 1910 prior to embarking on a major exercise involving 195 ships.

This was the largest gathering of major warships ever seen in South West waters. Hundreds of people watched from Castle Drive as the formidable Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets arrived from Gibraltar in formation before taking up their respective anchorages in the bay off Pendennis Point. Several colliers waiting in port went alongside the warships to commence coal bunkering immediately.

The battleships Albion, London, Russell, Duncan, Glory, Prince of Wales, Swiftsure, Exmouth, Triumph, Vengeance, Venerable, and Implacable were joined by other units of the fleet that included the cruisers Duke of Edinburgh, Hermione, Black Prince, Drake, Lancaster, Furious, Venus, Cornwallis, Bacchante, and Terpsichore. Vice-Admiral Prince Louis of Battenburg, a former Controller of the Navy, commanded the Atlantic Fleet.

A few days before the arrival of the main fleet the gunboat Hazard, several submarines, 50 torpedo boats and destroyers from the 5th Devonport and Nore destroyer flotillas anchored in the Carrick Roads and inner harbour.

The Prince of Wales pier became a hive of activity as hundreds of sailors came ashore in steam pinnaces to collect stores and mail. Field Marshall Lord Kitchener arrived from London and joined one of the battleships for the impending exercise.

Stores for the ships sent out from the port included 20,000lbs of bread, 30,000lbs meat and 50,000lbs vegetables. Hundreds of bags of mail were transferred using 30 steam pinnaces that ferried thousands of men ashore for shore leave. 500 men were landed from the Devonport flotilla for a route march via Melville Road, Boslowick, Swanpool and back to Market Strand.

The warships assembled for the naval exercise split into three separate fleets designated Red, White and Blue. The Red fleet (21 battleships, nine armoured cruisers and 50 destroyers) commanded by Admiral Sir William May represented the British fleet with a White squadron under Rear-Admiral Jerram attached. Admiral Sir Edward Poe commander of Blue fleet (22 battleships, 16 armoured cruisers and 46 destroyers) took on the role of the enemy. The Atlantic Fleet, one of the fleets composing the Blue Fleet was tasked to be blockaded at Oban by the Red Fleet and set the task of escaping and joining forces with the Blue Fleet.

The huge exercise went on for two weeks taking in western Scotland the Irish Sea and English Channel culminating in a submarine exercise of the Lizard. Some men who took part went on to fight a naval Armageddon or "Der Tag" six years later at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 when 6,094 British sailors perished in one of the bloodiest naval campaigns on record.

HMS Falmouth, a Weymouth Class cruiser in Admiral Sir David Beatty's battle cruiser fleet took part in the battle screening Beatty's flagship HMS Lion.

The Germans set a submarine trap off Flamborough Head on August 19, 1916 which the British 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron ran into. U-66 commanded by Von Bothner hit HMS Falmouth with two torpedoes. Despite suffering damage, Falmouth managed to limp away making a speed of six knots heavily escorted by destroyers. The following day U-63 commanded by Otto Schutz penetrated the screen to fire off torpedoes that finally sank the warship eight hours later south of Bridlington.