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E5

Built By: Vickers (Barrow)
Build Group: E Group 1
Fate: On 7th March 1916 Submarine E5 was on patrol in the North Sea north of Juist Island when it was sighted by a German Battle Cruiser SMS Seydlitz. An attack was carried out on the Submarine - apparently without effect.

Later a Submarine, believed to be E5, was sighted by German Cruiser SMS Regensburg further east and close by a German minefield off the west of the Ems River. Submarine E5 was not seen again and is thought to have been lost in the minefield.

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E5 had a very short career before and after her commissioning. She had an engine room explosion on 8 June 1913, 20 days before commissioning. 13 were killed.

A further three men were killed when there was an oil blow back into the starboard engine off St Ann's Head. The submarine depot ship HMS Adamant and HMS Alligator carried the medical team out to meet E5 on her way into Pembroke Dock. CERA James Alexander Greenall, son of Henry & Alice Greenall of Preston, Lancs., was killed at the scene. Engineer Commander Walter Lancelot Moore lost both legs and an arm and suffered third degree burns, dying in hospital at Pembroke Dock and returned for burial in Hampshire, believed Winchester. Leading Stoker Lewis Alfred Clarke of Esher in Surrey died in Pembroke Dock Naval Hospital. Greenall and Clarke are buried at Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery in plots R244 (Greenall) and R246 (Clarke). Ten other men were seriously injured, although all civilian staff from Barrow were safe and unharmed.

E5 Found

By James Tozer for the Daily Mail 21st November 2016

Found, a WWI submarine that took twenty-nine men to their doom: The fate of brave British sailors who vanished at sea is finally revealed after the ship's hull is found off the Dutch coast one hundred years later. Submarine E5, which is reported to be the first British Submarine to fire a torpedo in WWI, vanished in 1916.

Divers have now found the hull of HMS E5 off the coast of the Netherlands. The Submarine is thought to have struck a mine while rescuing survivors from trawler. The hatches were found open in poignant indication that crew may have tried to escape

For just over one hundred years it has kept its secrets, lying almost forgotten on the seabed. But now the descendants of the twenty-nine brave crewmen who died at last know its fate.

Divers found the remarkably intact hull of HMS E5 off the coast of the Netherlands after securing an agreement for a brief suspension of the busy shipping lane beneath which it rests.

Built in Barrow-in-Furness and commissioned in 1913, HMS E5 – the Royal Navy didn't start naming its submarines until 1942 – was feared to have struck a mine while rescuing survivors from a stricken trawler near Heligoland Bight on March 7, 1916.

The Submarine’s resting place remained a mystery until amateur maritime archaeologists won permission to examine a wreck off Schiermonnikoog, near the German border.

Encrusted with limpets and barnacles, it proved to be that of the 178 foot E5, its hatches open in a poignant indication that its crew made a vain effort to escape.

Its conning tower, which once bore its identifying 'Pennant Number' of 85, lay nearby on the seabed but there was no sign of major damage to the hull, indicating that it was not sunk because of enemy action.

Remy Luttik, who led the Zeester diving team, said: 'A piece of the puzzle of the maritime history of the North Sea has surfaced. The results offer hope for relatives looking for their missing loved ones.'

Roll of Honour

Name Rank Number Hons Age
Aldred, Albert  Stoker 1st Class  K 12395    27
Arnold, William James  Petty Officer  197172    35
Atkinson, Henry Warkman  Able Seaman  J 12152    22
Bassett, John Thomas  Leading Seaman  203189    32
Bonner, William Arthur  Leading Stoker  K 13881    28
RN DoB 06/11/1887. Actual 06/11/1884
Bor, Thomas Humphrey  Lieutenant (RNR)      24
Buchanan, Philip  Engine Room Artificer (RNR)  EA 1407    26
Chinn, Robert Leonard  Stoker 1st Class  K 14836    21
Clarke, Lewis Alfred  Leading Stoker     
Died in Pembroke Dock Naval Hospital followingan explosion occurred inside E5s Main Engines on 08/06/1913
Cowburn, Francis Garratt  Stoker Petty Officer  309136    31
Crane, Arthur Thomas  Leading Telegraphist  J6686 (Po)    25
It is reported that he was accidentally lost overboard and drowned 24/02/1916
Dale, Alan Denzil  Stoker 1st Class  K 15770    25
Davis, Frederick William  Engine Room Artificer 4th Class  M 496    22
Edwards, Harrington Douty  Lieutenant Commander    DSO  30
Commanding Officer
Goff, George  Stoker 1st Class  K 20958    24
Greenall, James Alexander  Chief Engine Room Artificer     
Killed 08/06/1913 when an explosion occurred inside E5s Main Engines
Kingcome, Howard William  Signalman  J 11519    20
Lane, Joseph Frederick  Stoker 1st Class  K 16052    23
Lefever, James  Able Seaman  J 11476    22
McDowell, William  Leading Seaman  211344    33
Moore, George Frederick  Stoker 1st Class  K 14005    22
Moore, Walter Lancelot  Engineer Commander     
Lost both legs and an arm and suffered third degree burns 08/06/1913 when an explosion occurred inside E5s Main Engines. Died in hospital at Pembroke Dock
Morris, Ernest Richard  Chief Engine Room Artificer  268807    40
Oates, Charles John  Able Seaman  J 4526    24
Owen, Arthur Robert  Petty Officer  199878    32
Parker, William  Able Seaman  J 6076    22
Parrell, Charles  Chief Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class  270476    35
Pendred, Alfred Joseph  Petty Officer  J 2418    25
Powell, Robert Albert  Leading Stoker  K 798    27
RN DoB 27/04/1888. Actual 27/04/1887
Rice, Cecil Frank  Engine Room Artificer 4th Class  M 7200    28
Shepherd, William Edwin  Boy Telegraphist  J 35848    17
Smith, Ernest  Stoker 1st Class  K 17473    21
Thirlwell, Arthur Robert  Able Seaman  235171    27
Watson, Sidney Frederick  Lieutenant      22

Events

09-06-1911 : Laid Down
17-05-1912 : Launched
07-06-1913 : Completed
08-06-1913 : An explosion occurred inside E5's Main Engines, resulting in the death of one Officer and two men. In addition, nine men were badly burned.
07-03-1916 : At 08.10 on the morning the German battle cruiser Seydlitz sighted a submarine north of Juist Island. The cruiser and her accompanying torpedo boats dropped depth charges but to no avail. A few hours later another German cruiser, the Regensburg sighted a submarine to the east, not far from a German minefield of the Western Ems. E5 failed to return from her patrol and it is believed that this was the submarine seen by the Regensburg near the minefield.
21-11-2016 : Divers found the remarkably intact hull of HMS E5 off the coast of the Netherlands after securing an agreement for a brief suspension of the busy shipping lane beneath which it rests. The wreck of E5 was found by off the island of Schiermonnikoog, there was no sign of major damage to the hull, indicating that it was not sunk as a result of enemy action. Remy Luttik, head of the diving team, said he was relieved: “A puzzle piece of the maritime history of the North Sea could be clarified.”
Comments

2 comments

Hello,
My wifes late mother was the daughter of petty officer stoker Francis Garratt Cowburn.
The family have the certificate and bronze plaque given to serviceman lost in WW 1.
He was born in the Altrincham area and was married in Manchester at the age of 25.
Unfortunately we don't have a lot of information about his early life before he joined the Royal Navy
   Keith Feay Sat, 23 Jan 2021
My paternal grandfather, Lewis Alfred Clark, was badly burnt in the 1913 fire and died four days later from his injuries He is buried in Pembroke Dock Cemetery. My father was just three months old when the incident occurred.
   Robert Clark Mon, 24 Oct 2022

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