English: 'H.M.S. Hindustan Nov: 24th 1914. Oct: 16th 1915'

One of the eight ships of the King Edward VII-class pre-dreadnought battleships, all except 'King Edward VII' being named for parts of the Empire. Built by John Brown on the Clyde, she was launched in 1903 and commissioned in mid-1905, serving first with the Atlantic Fleet and then the Channel Fleet, subsequenly the Home Fleet. This drawing (probably based on a photograph) shows her as rigged in the 1909-10 period with tall wireless topgallants, range clock on the lower foretop and quick-firing guns on the fore turret - not as she appeared in the 1914-15 period. In 1912,' Hindustan' and her sister ships formed the 3rd Battle Squadron, which was assigned to the Grand Fleet at the beginning of the First World War and served on the Northern Patrol. In 1916, she, with the rest of the squadron was transferred to Nore Command until she was detached in February 1918 to serve as a parent ship for the raids on Zeebrugge and Ostend. Decommissioned in May 1918, she finished the war as an accommodation ship and was disposed of in 1919. All ships of this class were of 16,500 tons as built with 4 x 12-in guns as primary armament. They were fast and manoeuvrable though known as the 'Wobbly Eight' because difficult to keep on a straight course owing to the sensitivity of their steering, but were also very good gun platforms though wet sailers in a seaway.

Nothing is known of the artist, W. J. Sutton, except that he painted British warships in watercolour, the ships shown dating from the mid-1890s to at least the early 1920s. His style is perhaps best described as that of a competent amateur, though it was probably for sale, and examples by him sometimes appear at auction. Given his subject he may have been based at one of the naval ports, such as Portsmouth or Plymouth, and mainly selling to naval personnel. If so, that may explain the dates on the original titled mount of this example as being those between which his client served in the ship shown. This drawing is signed, lower right.