Orkney Image Library

This 6000 ton cruiser was built in 1900 and had length of approx. 430 feet, with a complement of 600 men. Her main armament was 12 - 6 inch guns and she had a maximum speed of 23 knots. The ship was in the Far East in 1914 and served with the Allied fleets during the war after which she was laid up in Gareloch, Firth of Clyde in 1919 to await disposal.

Thanks Eddy, you have added a bit to what I already knew of the Ascold/Glory IV. I will add a brief history of her career for those who are interested. I wonder if Barbara had a relative on board, or how did she come across this rare photo? I have attempted to repair and enhance it in Photoshop and if successful will post it elsewhere.

The Russian light cruiser Askold was distinguished by her five funnels, the only large warship to have such an arrangement, Askold was completed in 1901 and served the early years of her career in the Far East and in Siberian waters. She was thrice damaged during the Russo-Japanese war. Her final battle during that war was the Battle of the Yellow Sea, where she sustained heavy damage but survived by outrunning the Japanese. Following the battle she put in to Shanghai and was interned for the rest of the war.
During WW1 Askold moved to the Mediterranean and participated in operations in the Dardenelles. During 1916/1917 she was overhauled in Italy and in the UK, and transferred to service in Arctic waters in September 1917. A few months later, in the chaos of the Bolshevic Revoluton she came under Bolshevik control.
Askold was seized by the British on 14 July 1918, during their intervention in the Civil War and was commissioned as HMS Glory IV on 3 August 1918. Her career in British service was short, however, as she was returned to the new Soviet government in 1921, and sold for scrapping in Germany the following year.