HMS Thrush was a Redbreast-class

Redbreast class gunboat

The Redbreast class comprised nine first-class screw-driven composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1889, mounting 6 guns.-Design:...

 composite gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

, the third ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

Design

The Redbreast-class were designed by Sir William Henry White

William Henry White

Sir William Henry White was a prolific British warship designer and Chief Constructor at the Admiralty....

, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction

Director of Naval Construction

The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....

 in 1888.

Construction

Thrush was launched on 22 June 1889 at Greenock. Her triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine was built by the Greenock Foundry, and developed 1200 ihp, sufficient to propel her at 13 kn (25.5 km/h) through her single screw.

Career

Her first station was the North America and West Indies Station based in Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 where, in 1891, she was commanded by HRH Prince George

George V of the United Kingdom

George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....

, later to become King George V of the United Kingdom. In 1896 Thrush, along with Sparrow, played a part in the 40 minute Anglo-Zanzibar War

Anglo-Zanzibar War

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted 38 minutes and is the shortest war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession...

. She was also on active service during the Second Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

 between October 1899 and June 1902 where she was commanded by Lieutenant W H D'Oyly.

From 1906 Thrush worked for HM Coastguard

Her Majesty's Coastguard

Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...

 before becoming a cable ship in 1915. She then became a salvage ship in 1916 before being wrecked off Glenarm

Glenarm

Glenarm is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It had a population of 582 people in the 2001 Census. Glenarm takes it name from the glen in which it lies,...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

on 11 April 1917.