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Porpoise (N14)
| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | G2 |
| Fate: | Bombed by Japanese aircraft in the Malacca Strait 19 Jan 1945. |
Adoption
By Dr Peter Schofield
Adoption Plaque presented by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to Workington to Commemorate the Adoption of HMS Porpoise during Warship Week Feb 28th 1942
The adoption plaque is held at the Helena Thompson Museum, Workington. With an adoption target of £300,000 the town fell short raising £252,355 in war savings. The diamond shaped crest differed from the crest of the post war HMS Porpoise. Today's shapes date from 1940 when it was decided to give new ships a round frame. HMS Porpoise helped save Malta as Britain's first submarine tanker carrying supplies of aviation fuel and ammunition during the Luftwaffe attacks on convoys. Operating in the Far East, HMS Porpoise was sunk (with all hands) by Japanese aircraft in the Malacca Strait on 19 January 1945.
Lancashire Evening Post, Wednesday 3 March 1943 reported that Lt.-Cdr Leslie Bennington, Commander of the submarine HMS Porpoise is visiting Workington soon to accept the boroughs plaque recording that the Porpoise is the towns adopted vessel.
If Leslie Bennington accepted the presentation plaque from Workington and it was kept onboard Porpoise, then it would have been lost along with the submarine.
Workington Warship Week was held 21-28 February 1942
Roll of Honour
| Name | Rank | Number | Hons | Age |
| Adams, Albert Edney | Warrant Engineer | (Ex.M38365) | DSC | 36 |
| Ansell, Leonard Basil Albert | Able Seaman | C/SSX 17588 | 27 | |
| Bolden, Jack | Able Seaman | P/JX 275768 | 24 | |
| Brennan, James | Petty Officer | D/JX 140144 | 27 | |
| Brockbank, Arthur Parker | Steward | C/LX 24620 | 27 | |
| Bullen, Herbert | Stoker 1st Class | C/KX 166023 | 20 | |
| Bullen, Herbert C/KX 166023 DoB 03/06/1924 Age 20. CWGC has Age 23 | ||||
| Carter, Jack | Leading Signalman | C/SSX 22808 | 24 | |
| Chitty, Clement Arthur Charles | Able Seaman | P/JX 217497 | 27 | |
| Clark, William Mason | Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | D/MX 101709 | 37 | |
| Clarke, Kenneth Ezekiel | Able Seaman | C/JX 544372 | 19 | |
| Cooper, Arthur | Able Seaman | D/JX 365441 | 21 | |
| Coupe, Trevor | Leading Seaman | D/JX 202891 | 25 | |
| Cowton, Alan Dodsworth | Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | C/MX 97715 | 22 | |
| Crouchman, Victor Pax Thomas | Able Seaman | P/JX 179071 | 25 | |
| Crouchman, Victor Pax Thomas P/JX 179071. At birth Crouchman, Victor Thomas | ||||
| Draper, Arthur Douglas | Stoker Petty Officer | P/KX 89439 | DSM* MID | 26 |
| Drew, Victor Henry Frank | Lieutenant (RNVR) | 25 | ||
| Dyall, Walter Frank | Able Seaman | D/JX 421908 | 20 | |
| Edwards, Walter Gordon | Leading Telegraphist | D/JX 141920 | 26 | |
| Fraser, James Norris McKay | Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | P/MX 63827 | 25 | |
| Gascoigne, William | Able Seaman | P/JX 384495 | 21 | |
| Gibson, Adam | Able Seaman | C/SSX 19866 | 26 | |
| Griffiths, Arthur Edward | Able Seaman | D/JX 399217 | 20 | |
| Healey, Alfred | Petty Officer Stoker | D/KX 82866 | 35 | |
| Henderson, Arthur | Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | D/MX 75673 | 22 | |
| Henson, Leslie | Leading Stoker | P/KX 156695 | 20 | |
| Hiscock, Wilfred Jack | Chief Engine Room Artificer | P/MX 47948 | DSM* | 30 |
| Hood, Alfred Gerald | Able Seaman | P/JX 177782 | 25 | |
| Hughes, Charles William Thomas | Stoker 1st Class | C/KX 123998 | 20 | |
| Julian, Richard Ernest Bartholomew | Able Seaman | C/JX 543451 | 19 | |
| Also as C/JX 543541 in CWGC/FWR | ||||
| Kennedy, Mungo Hamilton McLeod | Lieutenant | 22 | ||
| Lee, Arthur | Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | P/MX 78168 | 24 | |
| Livingston, Alexander | Able Seaman | P/KX 145231 | 22 | |
| Lucking, Cecil Jeffrey | Leading Stoker | P/KX 86421 | 29 | |
| Malliband, Guy Gordon | Able Seaman | P/KX 150619 | 20 | |
| Martin, Basil Hedley | Petty Officer | D/JX 145032 | 24 | |
| Nash, John Raymond | Able Seaman | D/JX 550070 | 19 | |
| Oliffe, John | Able Seaman | D/J 101353 | 39 | |
| Oliver, Terance | Stoker 1st Class | P/MX 163832 | 20 | |
| Palliaser, Harry | Leading Stoker | C/KX 135113 | MID | 22 |
| Passmore, Jack | Petty Officer Telegraphist | D/KX 149398 | 24 | |
| Proudfoot, Abraham Patterson | Leading Seaman (RNVR) | P/UD/X 1324 | BEM | 25 |
| Ranken, Terence Alexander | Leading Telegraphist | D/JX 162760 | 20 | |
| Richardson, Thomas Stanley | Able Seaman | P/JX 163327 | 21 | |
| Roberts, Douglas David George | Lieutenant | MID | 24 | |
| Rogers, Phillip | Able Seaman | P/JX 322506 | 25 | |
| Rogers, Richard | Petty Officer | C/J 114288 | 36 | |
| Rowlands, George | Able Seaman | C/SSX 28164 | 25 | |
| Sant, Albert William James | Leading Stoker | D/KX 155271 | 20 | |
| Sherrif, John | Telegraphist | P/JX 232707 | 22 | |
| Simpkins, George Alexander | Petty Officer | P/JX 128626 | 34 | |
| Skeoch, James McKay | Able Seaman | P/JX 407094 | 19 | |
| Smith, Albert George | Stoker 1st Class | D/KX 140733 | 21 | |
| Smith, Frank | Petty Officer Cook | C/MX 50326 | 31 | |
| Smith, John | Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | D/MX 510996 | 31 | |
| Smith, John D/MX 510996. At birth Smith, Jack (Father John Smith) | ||||
| Smith, Leslie John | Able Seaman | P/JX 377637 | 20 | |
| Smith, Philip Roy | Stoker 2nd Class | P/KX 524286 | 19 | |
| Spencer, Edward Ronald | Leading Stoker | P/KX 137051 | 22 | |
| Taylor, Edward Owen Malvern | Lieutenant (RNVR) | MID | 28 | |
| Thomas, Ralph | Leading Seaman | C/SSX 25692 | 25 | |
| Trier, Colin Ernest | Sub Lieutenant (RNVR) | 21 | ||
| Turner, Hugh Bentley | Lieutenant Commander | DSC | 29 | |
| Tyler, Walter John | Able Seaman | C/JX 188978 | 25 | |
| Vaughan, Frederick John | Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | C/MX 55223 | 22 | |
| Webb, John Herbert Thomas | Leading Stoker | P/KX 140877 | 20 | |
| Webber, Grahame Mark | Telegraphist | P/JX 300198 | 22 | |
| Weeden, William Henry | Stoker 1st Class | C/KX 141642 | 20 | |
| Weston, James | Stoker 1st Class | D/KX 162600 | 20 | |
| Whittaker, Robert | Able Seaman | P/JX 385870 | 21 | |
| Wilkins, Arthur Francis | Stoker 1st Class | P/KX 162377 | 20 | |
| Williams, Arthur Frederick Charles | Petty Officer | D/JX 156792 | 22 | |
| Williams, Frederick Sidney | Stoker 1st Class | C/JX 193551 | 25 | |
| Wimble, Will | Stoker 1st Class | C/KX 141189 | 20 | |
| Woodward, Stanley | Leading Stoker | P/KX 147579 | 32 | |
| Wright, James | Stoker 1st Class | C/KX 140927 | 21 | |
Events
| 22-09-1931 : | Laid Down |
| 30-07-1932 : | Launched |
| 10-02-1937 : | Completed |
| 16-04-1940 : | HMS Porpoise fires 6 torpedoes against the German submarine U-3 about 10 nautical miles south-west of Egersund, Norway. All torpedoes miss. |
| 16-05-1940 : | HMS Porpoise lays minefield FD 11 (48 mines) off Kalvag, Norway. |
| 14-06-1940 : | HMS Porpoise lays minefield FD 18 (50 mines) off the Ramsoyfjord, Norway. |
| 29-07-1940 : | HMS Porpoise lays minefield FD 23 (50 mines) off southern Norway. |
| 13-09-1940 : | HMS Porpoise lays minefield FD 26 (48 mines) in the Bay of Biscay north-west of La Rochelle, France. |
| 07-03-1941 : | While enroute to Halifax, Canada, HMS Porpoise makes an unsuccessful torpedo attack on a submarine in the North Atlantic. |
| 09-12-1941 : | HMS Porpoise torpedoes and heavy damages the Italian passenger/cargo ship Sebastiano Venier about 5 nautical miles south of Navarino. The Sebastiano Venier is transporting more then 1800 Allied POW's. Despite the bad weather almost 1700 of these are rescued. |
| 11-01-1942 : | HMS Porpoise lays 50 mines off Suda Bay, Crete. |
| 18-01-1942 : | HMS Porpoise torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Citta di Livorno about 15 nautical miles north-east of Cape Maleka, Crete. |
| 12-08-1942 : | HMS Porpoise lays a minefield (46 mines) off Ras el Tin, Libya and torpedoes and sinks the Italian transport Ogaden 9 nautical miles from Ras el Tin, Libya. |
| 15-08-1942 : | HMS Porpoise torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Lerici about 120 nautical miles north of Ras Amir, Libya. |
| 19-08-1942 : | HMS Porpoise attacks the Italian merchant Iseo off Derna, Libya. All torpedoes miss. During the counter attack by the Italian escorts, Porpoise was damaged by depth charges from the torpedo boat Lince. |
| 03-10-1942 : | HMS Porpoise lays a minefield (46 mines) west of Tobruk, Libya. |
| 18-11-1942 : | HMS Porpoise torpedoes and sinks the Italian tanker Giulio Giordani about 45 nautical miles north-east of Misurata, Libya. |
| 19-11-1942 : | HMS Porpoise fires a torpedo against the Italian auxiliary patrol vessel F 39/Fertilia off the Libyan coast. The torpedo missed. |
| 23-11-1942 : | HMS Porpoise sinks the Italian auxiliary patrol vessel F 39/Fertilia with gunfire off Kerkennah, Tunisia. |
| 06-07-1944 : | HMS Porpoise sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca. Also on this day she lays 30 mines off the mouth of the Deli river, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies. |
| 08-07-1944 : | HMS Porpoise lays 16 more mines of the mouth of the Deli river and 10 mines in the Strait of Malacca. |
| 09-12-1944 : | HMS Porpoise lays minefield ML 019 with 50 mines off Penang. |
| 10-12-1944 : | HMS Porpoise sinks a small Japanese sailing vessel in the Strait of Malacca. |
| 09-01-1945 : | On or around this date HMS Porpoise lays mines off Penang. |
| 19-01-1945 : | Last British submarine to be lost during WW2 On 2nd January 1945 HMS Porpoise left Trincomalee to lay mines in the vicinity of Penang. The signal received from the submarine confirming that this had been successfully carried out was the last contact made. Japanese records show that a submarine was spotted and bombed by aircraft in the vicinity of Penang. Although not destroyed in this attack, the submarine was wounded and leaking oil that left a trail for the Japanese anti-submarine forces to follow as they closed in for the kill. |
Comments
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| My Uncle was Leading Seaman Ralph Thomas. He was from Machen and Rudry in South Wales. His name is listed on the Cenotaph at St James Church, Rudry Nr. Caerphilly. He had joined up in 1938 and had served at the battle of Narvik on HMS Foxhound. He was one of the crew manning the launch from Foxhound with Capt Holland to Admiral Gensoult at Oran when some of the French fleet were sunk. I have some letters he wrote home days before his last mission with Porpoise in Jan 1945. Current records indicate Porpoise was bombed by Japanese bomber aircraft at least three times on 11th January 1945. He was a keen sportsman, a good boxer and by all accounts a popular chap. I have nearly finished putting together quite a thorough account of his life, for the family, the Thomas clan. Well done for helping to keep their important legacy alive too. Diolch yn Fawr. Hywel Thomas Sun, 6 Sep 2020 |
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