HMS Powerful ( 1895 ) HMS " Powerful " was a ship of the " Powerful " - class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy . Career . She was built by Vickers Limited , Barrow - in - Furness and launched on 24 July 1895 by the Duchess of Devonshire . She served with her sister ship , HMS " Terrible " on the China Station and provided landing parties which fought in the relief of the Siege of Ladysmith in the Second Boer War . Crews from the two ships also took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China . After 1904 they were laid up as an economy measure . In 1897 Captain Hedworth Lambton commanded HMS " Powerful " , which was one of the largest warships of the time , on a posting to China . On the return voyage in 1899 he was ordered to Durban , South Africa at an important point in the Second Boer War . He stopped at Mauritius , and on his own initiative picked up a battalion of soldiers stationed there . Knowing that the British forces at Ladysmith urgently needed more powerful guns , Captain Percy Scott from the " Powerful ' s " sister ship , the " Terrible " , devised carriages to transport naval cannon , and Lambton then led a Naval Brigade from " Powerful " to the rescue with four twelve - pounders and two other guns . The journey to Ladysmith from Durban was 189 miles . They began by special train then with oxen pulling the guns but when the oxen died the sailors took over pulling the guns themselves . In this endeavour they manhandled the guns " through the wild and broken country " of the South African veldt and " arrived in the nick of time " to play " a most important role in the defence of the town " . Although the Boer attackers were kept at bay unfortunately the Naval brigade became besieged themselves . A second Naval brigade from HMS " Terrible " left Durban for Ladysmith and joined with the relief column led by General Buller and assisted in the lifting of the siege . The field gun competition commemorates the participation of " Terrible " and " Powerful " in the relief of Ladysmith . The enthusiastic response in Britain to the " heroes of Ladysmith " was enormous and made Captain Hedworth Lambton a well - known public figure . Queen Victoria sent a telegram saying , " Pray express to the Naval Brigade my deep appreciation of the valuable services they have rendered with their guns . " while a reception and celebratory march through London were among the first events ever recorded on film . A newspaper described the " Powerful ' s " return home : In 1921 a new Primary School in Ladysmith was named after Lt Frederick Greville Egerton , a gunnery officer from the Powerful who lost his life during the action at Ladysmith . In August 1905 Captain Lionel Halsey took command of HMS " Powerful " , as flag captain to Sir Wilmot Fawkes as Commander - in - Chief Australia Station . At the time the " Powerful " was commissioning as Flagship on the Australia Station . Halsey remained in that post until 1908 . At the beginning of December 1905 , " Powerful " was at Fremantle in Western Australia . On 3 February 1908 the first trans - Tasman radio transmission was made via HMS " Powerful " which was in the Tasman Sea . A " Sydney Morning Herald " journalist , Charles Bean joined the ship in August 1908 as special correspondent to report the visit of sixteen American warships — the Great White Fleet . At the time " Powerful " was flagship of the Royal Navy squadron on the Australian Station . Bean wrote a book , " With the Flagship in the South " ( London , 1909 ) , based on his reports , with photographs , drawings and a water - colour frontispiece by the author , and had it published at his own expense . This book is available as In 1911 HMS " Powerful " visited Auckland , New Zealand to inspect the facilities and recommended the setting up of a Naval Store Organisation . During World War I , " Powerful " and " Terrible " had most of their armament removed and served as troop transports and later accommodation ships . After the end of the war , " Powerful " was renamed " Impregnable " in November 1919 and converted to a training ship . After ten years of this , she was sold on 31 August 1929 for breaking up .