Thule (P 325)
| Built By: | Devonport Dockyard |
| Build Group: | T 3 |
| Fate: | Scrapped on 14th September 1962 at Inverkeithing. |
HMS Thule painted black with S25 pennant number (previously P325). The forward torpedo tubes have been removed as recoded in PoWV 1959. Additional dome forward.
HMS Thule with fully shielded gun platform. 'Bandstand' removed & snort mast fitted. Mast can be seen folded down on the aft casing. The object sticking up above the snort head is the 138 ASDIC cover. She appears to be fitted with Truculent lights far forward and aft, thus this is a post 1950 photo with no pennant number displayed. She still has the forward external tubes.
HMS Thule fitted with Type 186 hydrophone set (Knout) for trial, 1955.
Commanders
| 1943: | Lieutenant | Alastair Campbell Gillespie Mars | DSO DSC |
| 1945: | Lieutenant | Anthony Stuart Melville-Ross | DSC |
| 1948: | Lieutenant | Robin William Garson | |
| 1948: | Lieutenant | Stephen Jenner |
Roll of Honour |
2
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| Acton, Thomas P/KX 150614 | Born: 9th Jun, 1920. | ||
| Died: 16th Nov, 1944. | |||
| Stoker 1st Class | Aged: 24 | ||
| from Bolton, Lancashire | |||
| The son of Thomas Acton (a labourer) & Fanny Acton of 23, Ashburner Street, Bolton (1921 Census). By late 1944 he had joined the Royal Navy. Thomas was taken ill and died from severe heat stroke/heat exhaustion at sea on patrol in the Far East. Several other crew members were also taken ill with similar symptoms at the same time and it was initially thought that it was an outbreak of cholera. After leaving station and rendezvousing with a ship carrying medical staff the correct diagnosis was established and the patrol was continued. He was the husband of Anna Acton of Belfast |
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| Williams, Harold Victor D/MX 102756 | Born: 3rd Jul, 1920. | ||
| Died: 14th Aug, 1945. | |||
| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | Aged: 25 | ||
| from Bristol, Gloucestershire | |||
| The son of Henry Randall David Williams and Phoebe Helen Williams. In September 1939 he was listed as an Improver Turner at the Over Engineering Works in Bristol and he was living at home with his widowed mother at 12, Narroways Road, Bristol. After the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy as a Direct Entry Engine Room Artificer and trained as a Submariner. By August 1945 he had been advanced to Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class and he was serving in Submarine HMS Thule under Lt Commander A C G Mars at Fremantle in Western Australia. Harold Williams is reported to have died having committed suicide by drowning himself ‘whilst in a depressed state of mind’ whilst HMS Thule was at Fremantle. |
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Events
| 20-09-1941 | Laid Down |
| 22-10-1942 | Launched |
| 13-05-1944 | Completed |
| 16-12-1944 | HMS Thule lays 12 mines off Terutan Island. |
| 17-12-1944 | From 17 December 1944 to 29 December 1944 HMS Thule sinks 13 junks, 2 lighters and 5 sampams with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca. |
| 28-12-1944 | HMS Thule attacks a submarine off Penang. HMS Thule claims a kill but the torpedoes have exploded prematurely so the submarine escapes unharmed. |
| 28-03-1945 | HMS Thule sinks two Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire off the west coast of Siam. |
| 01-04-1945 | HMS Thule sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire of the west coast of Siam. |
| 03-04-1945 | HMS Thule sinks two Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire of the west coast of Siam |
| 17-07-1945 | HMS Thule sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire of the north coast of Java, Netherlands East Indies. |
| 19-07-1945 | HMS Thule sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire of the north coast of Java, Netherlands East Indies. |
| 20-07-1945 | HMS Thule sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire of the north coast of Java, Netherlands East Indies. |
| 14-09-1962 | Scrapped at Inverkeithing. |
Comments
Comment by: Irene wells on June 4th, 2021
My father ( Locke) was a crew member ( stoker), under Mars on far East patrols. He was mentioned in dispatches during this tour. We think there was damage to the aft end steering gear, which he had to repair under difficult conditions.
Comment by: Gilda on April 16th, 2020
My Father James Keen served on the Thule 1944 1945
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