HMS Monarch (1868) - Service History

Service History

She was commissioned for the Channel Fleet at Chatham, and served therein until 1872. During the service she crossed the Atlantic in the company of USS Plymouth carrying the remains of George Peabody, American merchant, financier and philanthropist, to the United States for burial. On her way home she sailed on one day a distance of 242 nautical miles (448 km), which fell short of the record set by HMS Ocean by one nautical mile only. She paid off for refit, rejoining the Channel Fleet in 1874. In 1876 she was posted to the Mediterranean, where she served until 1885, with a short refit at home in 1877. She was present and active at the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 firing 125 12-inch (300 mm) shells at the Egyptian forts. She was ordered to Malta in the Russian war scare of 1885, but broke down en route and her whereabouts were unknown for some days; she was ultimately found, towed into Malta, patched up and sent home under escort. After refit she again served in the Channel between 1885 and 1890. She spent the years from 1890 to 1897 undergoing a lengthy modernisation, after which she was guardship at Simon's Bay until 1902. She was thereafter reduced to the status of a depot ship under the new name of HMS Simoon; brought home in 1904, she was sold in 1905.