The Royal Navy During the Boxer Uprising – HMS’ Centurion and Blenheim off Hong Kong

Posted: April 12th, 2026 | No Comments »

HMS Centurion, off Hong Kong, late 1890s, unknown artist….

Completed in 1894, Centurion was assigned to the China Station as its flagship. Together with her sister ship, Barfleur, she supported Allied operations during the Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 and contributed landing parties to participate in the Battles of the Taku Forts and of Tientsin. The ship returned home in 1901 to be rebuilt with a more powerful secondary armament. Centurion rejoined the China Station two years later and remained there until 1905 when she returned to Britain. Already made obsolete by the increasing speeds of the cruisers the ship was designed to defend against, she was placed in reserve until 1909. Centurion was decommissioned that year and sold for scrap in 1910.

HMS Blenheim off Hong Kong, early 1900s, unknown artist.

Blenheim was launched in 1890 and recommissioned 1901 with a complement of 593 men to serve at the China Station to support the British during the Boxer Uprising. In June 1902 she left China to visit Yokohama.

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