The significance of the day became apparent to me as 25th April approached. A newcomer to Australia in 1968, I just wasn't aware of the fervour and patriotism that stirred the Australian national emotions, or rather the reason behind it all. It was to be a public holiday, a day off, I understood that.
On inquiring, I was informed that ANZAC stood for Australia, New Zealand Army Corps and that ANZAC Day was the commemoration of the Gallipoli landing in 1915. There were to be dawn services and bands marching in many cities and towns throughout Australia.
"It's not just Army that participates", I was told. "The three services, including ex-servicemen and women, march in the streets, proudly displaying their medals."
"Ah yes", I said as I became more informed. "It's very similar to the Armistice Day ceremonies held throughout Great Britain on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month each year. On the eleventh hour, the Queen lays a wreath at the War Memorial in Whitehall, London."
"Will you be marching?" I was asked. "But I am British", I replied. "We won't hold that against you", said my Australian friend and workmate. "Come down to the Gold Coast on ANZAC Day and meet me in the R.S.L. at Tweed Heads."
So on ANZAC Day, I entered the R.S.L. Club, packed with hundreds of ex-servicemen and women, proudly wearing their war service medals. Beer was flowing freely. It was on the house on this special occasion. I was looking around when I spotted my friend, Les. He was seated, or rather perched, on a high stool.
Les left his stool, Les is a giant of a man, shouting out to his drinking mates and the rest of the crowded bar in a giant booming voice, giving me a bear hug and informing everyone around "Here is my pommy bastard submariner mate!" So it was that I joined the drinking group. A pot of beer was foisted on me and I was told "You can march with us". "But I'm Navy", I protested. He was RAAF.
I am informed now, and know what ANZAC Day is all about and I now march with the Australian Submariners' Association.
It is interesting to point out that Australia had only one submarine operating at Gallipoli. This submarine, AE2, was in fact the only one left in the Australian Navy at that time and was sunk on 27th April, two days after the landing. AE1 had been lost in the Pacific, cause unknown.
In World War II, Australia did not have any submarines at all, but it should be pointed out that a number of Australians served in British submarines on an individual basis.
A few years back, I attended an ANZAC Day dawn service at Caloundra, overlooking the beach. The silence was broken only by whispered conversations of people arriving in the dark, about 20 minutes before sunrise. In this rather sombre eeriness, people were peering out to sea, eyes seeking the horizon and dawn. Skies began to lighten, offering a blurred vision, gradually becoming just that little bit clearer. One could see the minister of religion standing by the Centaur memorial, book in hand, as the sky brightened by the minute. The stillness of the early morning was shattered by the bugle blast, the Last Post being played and the murmuring of the now famous lines: "They shall not grow old, as those that are left grow old... lest we forget".
On ANZAC Day, in reflective mood, I think without fail of HM Submarine Sickle and her crew. I remember them, the entire submarine's ship's company, officers and men numbering 52, lost in Sickle, which was sunk in early June, 1944. I had been serving in this particular submarine until a few weeks prior to her being lost in the Mediterranean. It is presumed that Sickle hit a mine. I think of a personal friend, his name Sam Mobbs, also a Londoner. We had served in a previous ship that had participated in the Dunkirk evacuation. We had joined submarines together and had found ourselves serving in the same ship. Fate decided that I should survive, not being part of this fateful last patrol in HM Submarine Sickle, the last submarine to be lost in the Mediterranean in World War II.
I remember them... and do not forget.
| Class: | 1935 - 1970: Improved S Class |
| Built By: | Chatham Dockyard (Medway) |
| Build Group: | S2 |
| Fate: | |
| HMS Shark was sunk on 6th July 1940 after being caught on the surface off the coast of Norway. Several bombs exploded close astern and severely damaged the propulsion. The Submarine dived in an attempt to get to safety but resurfaced in order to charge up the batteries and attempt to escape under cover of darkness. Both engines were restarted but the Port Engine was out of line and the rudder was jammed hard to port. The Submarine was relocated by enemy aircraft and attacked again. Unable to dive owing to a lack of high-pressure air, a low battery and flooding the Commanding Officer attempted to fight his way out but was forced, eventually, to surrender. 27 of the crew were uninjured, 12 (including the Commanding Officer) were wounded and 2 were killed. HMS Shark sank as the Germans were attempting to tow it to Stavanger. | |
An intense dramatisation of a long-suppressed Cold War anecdote, K-19: The Widowmaker is the first big Hollywood film to view the conflict through a Soviet periscope, casting Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson (with slight accents) as patriotic Russians.
In 1961, as NATO deploys long-range nuclear attack submarines, the Kremlin forces the Russian Navy to follow suit, whether they're ready or not. Ford takes over from popular skipper Neeson in command of the eponymous submarine, riding the men hard through a missile test, and then coping with an escalating series of crises as a jerry-built reactor threatens to melt down (and perhaps start World War III).
Though the political specifics are fresh, this has all the expected elements of a sub movie, citing everything from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Das Boot to Crimson Tide and The Caine Mutiny as sailors bristle mutinously under a marine martinet. This, along with inept engineering and ideological interference, prompts disaster.
Director Kathryn Bigelow, the most undervalued talent in Hollywood, is in her element with heroic men under pressure, and a terrific central stretch has comrades trying to fix the reactor even though they've been given the wrong protective gear and start coming down with radiation sickness as they work.
17 pages added or updated in the last Array month
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Thankyou for your support.
| Class: | 1935 - 1970: Improved S Class |
| Built By: | Chatham Dockyard (Medway) |
| Build Group: | S2 |
| Fate: | |
| HMS Shark was sunk on 6th July 1940 after being caught on the surface off the coast of Norway. Several bombs exploded close astern and severely damaged the propulsion. The Submarine dived in an attempt to get to safety but resurfaced in order to charge up the batteries and attempt to escape under cover of darkness. Both engines were restarted but the Port Engine was out of line and the rudder was jammed hard to port. The Submarine was relocated by enemy aircraft and attacked again. Unable to dive owing to a lack of high-pressure air, a low battery and flooding the Commanding Officer attempted to fight his way out but was forced, eventually, to surrender. 27 of the crew were uninjured, 12 (including the Commanding Officer) were wounded and 2 were killed. HMS Shark sank as the Germans were attempting to tow it to Stavanger. | |
An intense dramatisation of a long-suppressed Cold War anecdote, K-19: The Widowmaker is the first big Hollywood film to view the conflict through a Soviet periscope, casting Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson (with slight accents) as patriotic Russians.
In 1961, as NATO deploys long-range nuclear attack submarines, the Kremlin forces the Russian Navy to follow suit, whether they're ready or not. Ford takes over from popular skipper Neeson in command of the eponymous submarine, riding the men hard through a missile test, and then coping with an escalating series of crises as a jerry-built reactor threatens to melt down (and perhaps start World War III).
Though the political specifics are fresh, this has all the expected elements of a sub movie, citing everything from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Das Boot to Crimson Tide and The Caine Mutiny as sailors bristle mutinously under a marine martinet. This, along with inept engineering and ideological interference, prompts disaster.
Director Kathryn Bigelow, the most undervalued talent in Hollywood, is in her element with heroic men under pressure, and a terrific central stretch has comrades trying to fix the reactor even though they've been given the wrong protective gear and start coming down with radiation sickness as they work.
17 pages added or updated in the last Array month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
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