The Royal Navy’s H31, off Hong Kong by Thomas G Purvis

Posted: February 13th, 2026 | No Comments »

The Royal Navy’s H31 with Chinese sail boats off Hong Kong painted by Thomas G Purvis (1861-1933)…

I’ve posted worked by TG Purvis before –

G Purvis’s Painting of HMS Petersfield off Hong Kong

TG Purvis’s Junks off Hong Kong, 1926

Purvis was a sea captain who turned to painting, he was a prolific painter of ship portraits and marine scenes from the early 1890s to the late 1920s. There’s a lot more on him here including the fact that he seems to have abandoned his family in Bristol around 1915, worked as a mate or master of various steamships, at least until 1925, mostly in Far East Ports including Hong Kong. Purvis reportedly died in Hong Kong on 17 January 1933, after an accident.

H31 is something of a mystery – there was a ship marked HS31 in Hong Kong c.1927 – Gwulo has a photo of it though I can’t find a record for it – excepting an H31 (HMS Griffin) that looks similar (second photo below) but was not launched until 1935, after Purvis’s supposed death in Hong Kong. HMS Griffin transferred to the Royal Navy’s Eastern Fleet in March 1942.

There was also a submarine named H31 – a British H-class submarine built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness. You can see the H31 on the sub’s fin below. She was laid down on 19 April 1917 and was commissioned on 21 February 1919 that survived until World War II. However, Purvis clearly didn’t paint a sub though possibly H31 did go to Hong Kong (Gwulo has a picture of the crew).

So any ideas what this H31 in Victoria Harbour was? My best guess is that it was a submarine support vessel that towed and resupplied and the submarines?

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