HMS/M Shakespeare

HMS/M Shakespeare's crew enjoy reading about themselves in the newspaper

3rd January 1945. Andaman Islands, Indian Ocean. One of the most desperate submarine actions of the Far Eastern war was that of the Shakespeare, commanded by Lieutenant D. Swanston.

Her first victim was a medium-size Japanese supply ship. Four days later she sighted another and, instead of wasting a torpedo on her, Swanston decided to come to the surface and use the gun. The merchant ship was armed, carrying a 12-pounder gun, and she replied to the Shakespeare's fire, though without effect.

After she had scored three hits on the Japanese ship, a submarine chaser, summoned by the merchant ship's radio, was sighted approaching at high speed. Swanston decided to take the submarine down. Just as he was giving the order to dive, a lucky shot from the supply ship burst on the Shakespeare's pressure hull and tore a hole about nine inches by four. It was impossible to dive now and there was nothing for it but to remain on the surface and fight it out with the two ships with the gun. Water was entering the boat through the hole in the hull and flooding the engine room.

The 3-inch gun, the Oerlikon A/A gun, and the Vickers machine gun were manned on board the Shakespeare, and she was soon heavily engaged. She first silenced the gun on board the merchant ship and then concentrated all her weapons on the submarine chaser. Two of her crew, Petty Officer Telegraphist Harmer and Leading Telegraphist Wade, climbed out on to the saddle tanks, which were awash, and attempted to plug the hole in the hull with blankets and hammocks.

The Shakespeare was hit four more times, the blast from one shellburst blowing off POTel. Harmer's boots and wounding him in both feet. Undeterred, he continued to hang on to the rail to prevent himself being washed away and held the blankets in position in the hole with his wounded feet. For twenty minutes he held on in this position, but finally was forced to leave go by the heavy wash of the water and was carried overboard. Although it meant reducing the range to almost point blank, Swanston at once brought the Shakespeare round and picked him up.

At last a shell from the submarine hit the chaser in the engine room and disabled her. She came to a stop and the Shakespeare was able to draw away out of range. But her ordeal was not yet over. Japanese seaplanes, called in by the chaser's wireless, were arriving and attacking. Harmer, who after he had been picked up had joined the bucket chain below to try and keep the water from rising in the engine room, made his way up to the bridge. Though wounded now in the arm as well as the feet, he insisted on firing a Tommy gun at the attacking aircraft until night fell.

For eight hours the attacks from the air continued and it was only the arrival of darkness which brought them to an end and relief to the hard-pressed Shakespeare. Her troubles, though, were still not at an end. She was still a long way from her base and the twelve hours of almost continuous action had left her in bad shape. She had 16 casualties, two of them fatal. Her port engine and both electric motors were out of action, her compasses and wireless smashed. She was holed in the pressure hull and the port main ballast tank, and had a large amount of water in her hull. On the plus side, she had severely damaged the merchant ship and submarine chaser, shot down one seaplane and repeatedly hit four others.

For two days she made her way slowly towards her base, running on one engine. On the second night she had the luck to make contact with another British submarine, the Stygian. Swanston asked for a tow but, fearing a Japanese trap, the C.O. of Stygian, who knew Swanston well, wanted to make sure before closing to pass a towing wire. "What is the Christian name of your wife?" he signalled. "Sheila," came the reply, "and yours is Stella." That was sufficiently good evidence and the Stygian took the Shakespeare in tow and eventually reached Trincomalee harbour with her in safety.

Throughout the day, Shakespeare fought off 25 air attacks, shooting down one aircraft but suffering 15 casualties, with two killed. Here are the 3-inch guncrew taking a deserved break.

Medical supplies from HMS/M Stygian being ferried by canoe to the crippled Shakespeare.

I am grateful to Marilyn French, from the Isle of Wight, for sending me the two pictures below. Her father, the late Bernard Fellows, served on Shakespeare during its time in the Far East and remained proud of his submarine and his shipmates for the rest of his life. Just one face that we can put to countless submarine heroes of the Second World War. Bernard Fellows is the tallest rating on the after casing.

The picture below shows the ships company of Shakespeare between patrols, probably at Trincomalee, Ceylon. Bernard is on top right, above the 'Jolly Roger'.

An even better picture of Shakespeare's crew in 1944 (the man at far left on the bridge must have known a tattooist!) Picture again supplied by Marilyn French

Another picture of Bernard Fellows - uniform of an Ord.Telegraphist