Royal Navy remembrance 2024. We will remember them.

As the nation takes time to pay their respects to those who given their lives in service of their country, here we look at one example from the thousands of sacrifices made by the sailors of the Royal Navy.

HMS Courageous was the first British warship to be sunk by the Germans during the Second World War. On the evening of September 3rd, 1939, she sailed from Plymouth, accompanied by four destroyers, to conduct anti-submarine patrols in the Western Approaches. On September 17th she was off the coast of Ireland looking for German U-boats. During this operation, two destroyers were sent to assist a merchant ship under attack, leaving Courageous protected by by the two remaining destroyers, HMS Ivanhoe and HMS Impulsive. At this early stage of the war the capabilities of ASDIC (sonar) were rather overestimated by the RN, and none of the ships were aware of a submarine’s presence until it was too late.

At 1800hrs, the German submarine U-29, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Otto Schuhart, spotted Courageous and attempted into get to an attacking position. Despite zigzagging at 20 knots to complicate submarine attacks, as Courageous turned into the wind to launch aircraft, she inadvertently placed herself directly in U-29’s path. At 1950hrs the submarine fired three torpedoes, two of which struck Courageous, knocking out all electrical power.

Following the attack, Courageous began to list to port almost immediately. Within five minutes, the captain ordered an evacuation as the ship’s bow submerged and her stern rose into the air. She had completely sunk within 19 minutes of being hit. Some lifeboats on the starboard side were deployed, but those on the port side were unusable due to the rapid listing. A total of 518 crew members perished, including the CO, Captain W.T. Makeig-Jones. Many were trapped below decks as the ship sank or had been killed in the initial explosion.

There were 681 survivors, mostly rescued by a Dutch liner, SS Veendam and a British freighter, SS Collingworth. One of those rescued was Able Seaman Frederick Arthur Cadmany who told his story: “I was on watch, three or four yards from the captain when the ship was hit. I made my way down to the lower deck’ he said ‘but could see that no boats were being lowered as the power was not operating, I stripped naked decided to take a chance and dived for it. One boat they did manage to lower, capsized with 60 in it. I grabbed one of the oars which helped to keep me up, but there was no sea running – only a slight swell. Hundreds were in the water there was absolutely no panic everybody took it calmly some were cracking jokes and those in boats were singing ‘Boomps A Daisy’ and ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’. The captain was still on the bridge when I last saw him I had been in the water about an hour and a quarter when I was picked up by a destroyer’s boat”.

Typical of the long-serving sailors lost with Courageous was Leading Stoker Fred Prowse — a baker who joined the Navy during the First World War, surviving the Battle of Jutland on board HMS Orion. He retired from the RN in February 1937 to become a bus driver. He lived in Plymouth with his wife Gladys and their three children, Pat, Pete and Sheila but in 1939, aged 44, he was recalled to duty and was drafted to Courageous. When the news of the sinking reached Plymouth, Gladys went to the dockyard for many days afterwards, hoping that Fred would turn up, but he never would.

The names of all those who lost their lives on HMS Courageous are listed on the Naval Memorial on Plymouth Hoe. The name ‘Courageous’ continued on, being selected for an SSN launched in 1970. Decommissioned in 1992, the submarine has been preserved as a museum vessel in Devonport.

Donations can be made to the Royal British Legion here or the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity here.