"Of all the branches of men in the Forces, there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariner.
Great deeds are done in the air and on the land; nevertheless, nothing surpasses your exploits." Winston Churchill.

"Only in attack does a submarine reveal herself, before creeping away to the concealment of the deep"

British Submarine HMS Shakespeare

Image annotated on rear: HM Submarine "Shakespeare" May 1943 Algiers

HMS Shakespeare became famous in 1945 by fighting a surface action against an armed Jap merchant and Jap bombers. But first, here we have some photo graphs taken by one of her crew and quite possibly have never seen the light of day until I was sent his photo album by Pauline Thomas, a relative of James Patterson. All these images shown below were taken from his album, which includes newspaper cuttings and illustrations. Some of these are undated and no description. HMS Shakespeare (Lt. David Swanston, DSC, RN) was damaged by gunfire and aircraft bombs in the Nankauri Strait, Andaman Islands 3 January 1945 and written off as a constructive total loss. Sold for scrap 14th July 1946.

Image is signed on the back by all concerned. James Patterson is front centre.
William John Newport, Harry Lloyd, Jimmy Green, Walter (Jock) Slaven, James MacDonald. Rahia 25th November 1942

Sunday Chronicle March 4th 1945 Page 3. Original photo is seen below

Jimmy is on the left, who the lady is I have no idea, nor the Air Gunner on the right

Jim Patterson on right, unknown friend (Algiers?) Right: Jim wrote on the back "would you like to kiss me now darling, all my love, xxxx Jim xxxxxx"

Taken from the conning tower of Shakespeare - great photo

HM Sub Shakespeare

HM Sub Shakespeare & Tug at Trincomalee - photo has a note on back "Not to be transmitted by post"

Seems to be a great interest on deck with the arrival of Shakespeare

Shakespeare at Sea

Unknown but in Shakespeare album

HM Sub Shakespeare Crew in Trincomalee

Newspaper in centre of image is the News of The World headlined "A Battle of ???? Nazis Pour Back To Rhine" Trincomalee Ceylon

Newspaper in foreground advertises a fashion competition. Newspaper on left is also the News of the World

and another tells us that the "Air blitz goes on"

Following the surface action in 1945, sailors inspect the damage to their submarine, and below

and .................. from the other side!! At Trincomalee

Unknown vessel. Shakespeare in foreground. This could not be a Black Swan Class sloop, could it? Also note this is uncensored showing radar array etc.
Censors never got their hands on this particular photograph!!

That's one hell of a big spanner!!

Slight discrepancy over commission date. Listed as July 10th 1942.

Unknown subs, one of which will be Shakespeare, probably Trincomalee

Taken on arrival home after surface action at Trincomalee

He won't get anything with that gun, he forgot to put the mag in!!! HM Sub Shakespeare, probably Trincomalee, Ceylon.
I presume this is PO Telegraphist Harmer, who used a machine gun to fire at attacking aircraft, see article below.

All the above images are from the photo album of Stoker James Patterson HM Submarine Shakespeare. I intend to pass this album onto the British Submarine Museum, for safe keeping, as soon as I am finished with it.

HMS Shakespeare's pennant number was P221 and she was built in Barrow in Furness at Vickers Armstrong. Keel was laid down on 13 November 1940 and was launched on 8 December 1941. Commissioned 10 July 1942. Another site lists Shakespeare as launched on 8 December 1942, obviously incorrect: http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/submarines.htm

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 PO Tel. 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 they reached Trincomalee harbour with her in safety.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~gchalcraft/sm/shakespeare.html

This following report can be found on: http://www.combinedfleet.com/W-1_t.htm

Indian Ocean. Andaman Islands. Lt D. Swanston's submarine HMS/M SHAKESPEARE surfaces and engages an armed medium-size supply ship. The merchant replies unsuccessfully to SHAKESPEARE's fire, but the submarine manages to score three hits. W-1, summoned by the supply ship, approaches the scene at high speed. Lt Swanston attempts to dive, but a shell from the supply ship penetrates SHAKESPEARE's pressure hull and renders her unable to submerge. Swanston’s gun crews man their 3-inch, 20-mm Oerlikon and Vickers machine gun to fight it out on the surface. The British silence the supply ship’s gun. Then SHAKESPEARE concentrates her fire on W-1. During the engagement, the submarine is hit four more times. Finally, SHAKESPEARE's gunners hit W-1 in the engine room and disable her. W-1 goes dead in the water and the submarine pulls out of range. W-1 alerts seaplanes at Port Blair that arrive and attack the submarine. The air attacks continue for eight hours until the arrival of darkness. Later, submarine HMS STYGIAN arrives and tows SHAKESPEARE to Trincomalee, Ceylon.