9 minute read
VC out of reach for daring Irish captain of Australia’s first submarine
BY LLOYD GORMAN
An Australian submarine – skippered by a fearless Dublin naval commander – played a defining role in the military events of April 25 at Gallipoli, the date that has become enshrined as ANZAC Day. At a highly critical moment for the massive land sea operation by Allied forces his actions determined the course of the whole campaign and it even helped to give us the popular term Diggers to describe the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. At the outbreak of World War I Australia was not short on enthusiastic and proud men willing to do their part for ‘King and country’. But as the drums of war were beating harder the still fledgling former colony – which had just federated 14 years earlier – was poorly equipped in terms of the military hardware needed to take the fight to the enemy. For one thing, while it had ships and a long naval and maritime tradition the Royal Australian Navy did not have any submarines in its fleet. The RAN turned to the British for help. Two E Class subs (AE1 and AE2) were built in English ship yards in 1913 and commissioned a year later with a mixed crew of sailors from the more experienced Royal Navy and RAN. The two new underwater boats set out from England on March 14 1914 and arrived into Sydney Harbour on May 24. At the time it was the longest distance travelled by submarine anywhere in the world. AE2 sailed under the command of Lieutenant Commander Henry Hugh Gordon Stoker, who was on loan from the RN to its Australian equivalent. Months after their arrival WWI broke out and the submarines were quickly despatched with the naval force sent to capture Germany’s pacific colonies, including New Guinea. Their role was to help protect the flotilla but unfortunately for the 35 crew members of the AE1 she disappeared without trace or explanation on the first day of action in mid-September. The mysterious loss marred what was otherwise a successful operation to occupy the islands (which were renamed, including New Ireland and New Britain). It would also have weighed
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particularly heavily on their comrades in AE2. Just a week before Christmas 1914 Stoker and his men sailed out of Sydney headed for Albany in WA where she was to join the second convoy of Australian Imperial Forces gathering in King George’s Sound. After an uncomfortable and difficult voyage the convoy arrived in Suez at the end of January 1915. In February they joined a squadron of RN ships preparing to take part in the upcoming campaign. Just before April 25 Stoker presented his superior officer a bold plan to cut a passage through the 35 mile long, heavily defended Dardanelles Strait to reach the Sea of Marmora and cause as much damage and confusion to the enemy as possible. Other Allied submarines had tried to breach the dangerous passage which was awash with minefield, Turkish ships, gun batteries, sweeping spotlights and other defences. Their first attempt on April 24 was foiled by a technical problem with the sub, but they were ready to go the next day. “I lay at the entrance off the Dardanelles until moonset and at about 2:30am on 25th April entered the straits at 8 knots,” Stoker wrote. “Weather calm and clear. As the order to run amok in the Narrows precluded all possibility of passing through unseen, I decided to travel on the surface as far as possible.” For two hours AE2 cruised along on the surface before she was spotted and artillery from nearby forts rained down while she submerged quickly. For the next thirty minutes she moved gingerly through the minefield and often had the tethers of the mines scrapping against the hull of their vessel. Twice Stoker had to surface in minefields so he could take navigational readings. At one point AE2 became grounded – in fact she became grounded twice – and was left exposed to a group of Turkish ships, including two torpedo boats, a gunboat and various other boats, all of which opened fire on the nearby stranded submarine. Stokes and his crew were somehow able to dislodge their vessel and slip back into the water, and continued their raiding efforts. “In connection with these two groundings, I have to report that the behaviour of the crew was exemplary,” Stoker wrote. “In these two highly dangerous situations it was only their cool and intelligent performance of their duties which enabled the vessel to be refloated.” AE2 spent 16 hours submerged, picking targets, dodging attacks and doing as much as possible to harass and the Turks. About 9pm they surfaced to find they were alone in the water. Sitting on the surface in the open air was a perfect opportunity to recharge the sub’s batteries. Stoker also used the moment to send a message (through morse code) to the Commander-in-Chief Sir Ian Hamilton to report they had broken through the heavily defended sea passage and penetrated deep into Turkish territory. As the signal went through the AE2’s aerial purple and blue sparks came off it. The 22 year old seaman who sent the message tried again and again to confirm the message had gotten through but the unexpected fireworks display convinced them it had not gotten through and they carried on with their campaign of chaos. It was a critical moment in Australian military history. Around the same time as they were able to stop and have a breather Hamilton and his generals were holding a crunch meeting onboard the British flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth, just off the Gallipoli peninsula. They were assessing the events of the first day of the sea borne invasion of
the Turkish region, and the heavy losses the Allied and Anzac forces suffered in the attack. Lieutenant General William Birdwood who was in command of the Anzacs recommended an immediate evacuation his forces to his superiors. “The council of war was dramatically interrupted when one of Hamilton’s aides handed a copy of Stoker’s signal to Commodore Roger Keyes who announced “Tell them [the troops on the shore] this. It is an omen. An Australian submarine has done the finest feat in submarine history and is going to torpedo all the ships bringing reinforcements, supplies and ammunition into Gallipoli,”, an article about AE2 on Navy.gov.au said. “This was a tremendous fillip and in his response to Birdwood, Hamilton wrote “Your news is indeed serious. But there is nothing for it but to dig yourselves right in and stick it out. It would take at least two days to re-embark you, as Admiral Thursby will explain to you. Meanwhile, the Australian submarine has got up through the narrows and has torpedoed a gunboat…Hunter-Weston, despite his heavy losses, will be advancing tomorrow which should divert pressure from you. Make a personal appeal to your men…to make a supreme effort to hold their ground. P.S. You have got through the difficult business, now you have only to dig, dig, dig until you are safe.” The Australian ‘Digger’ was born. Other Allied submarines would follow in the path of Australian sub and at one point she briefly met a British counterpart E14, commanded by a Lieutenant Commanders Edward Courtney Boyle. After five days in action AE’s mission ended on April 30 when she was badly damaged in a fight with a torpedo boat. Stoker and his crew scuttled their sub to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. Stoker and his men were captured and spent the rest of WWI in a Turkish prisoner of war camp. True to his duty as a British officer he hatched three escape attempts but he also used time in captivity to keep up the morale of his fellow POWs, by entertaining them! As well as a flair for military action and being a naturally gifted sportsman Stoker was talented in other departments. A first cousin of Bram Stoker – author of Dracula – also from Dublin, Henry was creative in his own right. In 1925 he published an autobiography ‘Straws in the wind’ and between became 1930 and 1950 acted in dozens of movies and became a playwright. He stepped back from the navy and his own submarine command shortly after the end of the war but would serve again in World War II. In 1962, Stoker, who was by now 77, became Croquet Singles Champion of Ireland. He died on his 81st birthday, in 1966. For his command of AE2 in Gallipoli Stoker was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918. Three other submarine commanders who served at Gallipoli, all British Royal Navy [RN} officers, including Lt Commander Boyle, were recognised with Victoria Cross medals, the highest decoration that can be paid to any member of the British or Commonwealth forces. Like his counterparts Stoker was a RN man but he was on loan to the Royal Australian Navy [RAN] at the time. Stoker has long been spoken about as a worthy candidate for a VC under the Australian system. He was one of 13 historic Australian military personnel to have their cases reviewed in 2010 by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal. There were 13 written and seven oral submissions made in support of Stokers plight.
The comparison with the other three submarine commanders but in the opinion of the Tribunal no two cases were exactly the same. “Stoker lost his submarine; the other captains mentioned above did not,” the Tribunal reported. “No new or compelling evidence was produced by the submitters leading to a review of Stoker’s action. The Tribunal concluded that Stoker was appropriately awarded the DSO. The Tribunal recommends no action be taken to award Lieutenant Commander Henry Hugh Gordon Dacre Stoker a VC for Australia or other further form of recognition for his gallantry or valour.” Lest we forget!
THEY MADE THEIR MARK! Three Men. Three Victoria Crosses. One Rugby Club. What are Heroes made of?
Three rugby players, all from the same club went on to play internationally, but then all three went on to be awarded the highest military honours for valour, the Victoria Cross. It has only happened once and is unlikely to ever happen again. So why do so few know their names or even the club they played for? What was it that made these three men so special, was it the rugby club they belonged to, was it their upbringing or was it the sport of rugby union? Mark Our Place – a documentary by Ashley Morrison – tells the story of these three remarkable men, in the hope that their achievements will never be forgotten. It will be screened at The Blacklot Perth, 21 Simpson Street, West Perth, between 2pm and 4.30pm. For bookings and further details go to eventbrite. ☘
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