H.M.S. Shannon, 14,600 tons, was a Minotaur class armoured cruiser laid down in 1905, launched in 1906 and completed in 1908. Attached first to the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet, she then served with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron from 1909 until 1912 and again from 1913-14. Her Great War service with the Grand Fleet included the action at Jutland, for which she received a Battle Honour, and at Murmansk in November 1916. At the time this picture was painted in 1911, the 2nd Battle Squadron consisted of H.M.S. Shannon, together with four other armoured cruisers Achilles, Cochrane, Natal and Warrior; all these were of the Warrior class, displacing 13,550 tons and completed in 1906-07.