Erskine Childers and the Cuxhaven Raid, Christmas Day 1914
Trevor Adams
Perhaps one of the more obscure chapters in the life of Robert Erskine Childers was his involvement in the early war North Sea operations, in the present case his taking part in the raid on Cuxhaven on Christmas Day 1914. If ever the expression the “fog of war” could be applied to an operation, this was it, as we shall see.
Although Childers is often thought of today as being an arch Irish Republican, which indeed was one side of his character, he was also a child of Imperial Britain. He had been to a prestigious public school, Haileybury, and to Cambridge University. He served in the British army in the Boer War with the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), a reserve unit which is so posh that one can only join by invitation. So, it was little surprise that he returned to the colours, albeit naval ones, in August 1914, in spite of having been engaged in gun running into Ireland for the Irish Volunteers, just a few weeks earlier.
The Cuxhaven raid was a forgotten minor chapter of WWI that was only resurrected in the aftermath of WWII when historians and strategists were examining the seaborne air attacks of WWII such as Midway, Coral Sea, Pearl Harbour and Taranto2. It was only in the post-WWII analysis that the significance of the Cuxhaven Raid was recognised, as being the first seaborne air attack in military history, and also undoubtedly the least successful. Although it is called the “Cuxhaven” raid, in fact its roots lie in the paranoia existing in the United Kingdom (then including Ireland of course) on the threat of aerial attack by so-called Zeppelins. The aim was to attack the airbase that was known to exist to the south of Cuxhaven but without precise information as to its location. In other words, the level of planning of the raid was inept.
In fact, the airship base was at Nordholz, some eight miles (14km) south of Cuxhaven and inland, not on the coast. Today, it is still an operational airfield for the German air force coastal operations, and the site of a wonderful museum on both the era of the airship and more recent aviation history. Indeed, the visitor will find that the term used there is “airship”, as Zeppelins were built at the works in the South of Germany on Lake Constance, on the Swiss border. The northern German airship was the Schűtte-Lanz which used a plywood framework, not the high-tech alloy of the Zeppelin, but had many technological advantages over the Zeppelin. It is a bit like referring to all vacuum cleaners as Hoovers.
Churchill’s ideas for North Sea warfare in 1914-1915
Winston Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty before and in the early part of WWI. One of his obsessions was German airships – “Zeppelins”. They could do long distance reconnaissance and carry a bomb load, both of which were tasks that were beyond the ability of aircraft in 1914. Indeed, there was widespread paranoia about Zeppelins, and their supposed abilities, in general. In fact, the Germans only had about eight military airships at the outbreak of the war.
As part of the offensives against Zeppelins, the RNAS had carried out an ineffective bombing raid from Belfort in Eastern France on the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen on 21st November 1914, which involved infringing Swiss airspace. (RNAS was the Royal Naval Air Service, or, in navy slang, Really Not A Sailor). In fact, the Zeppelin works still exists in Friedrichshafen today, making much smaller airships. There is also a wonderful Zeppelin museum there, on the shores of Lake Constance.
In the period in the lead up to, and just after, the outbreak of hostilities, Churchill had suggested various harebrained attacks in the North Sea. He had ordered studies of possible landings by the Royal Navy on the Dutch, German, Danish and Scandinavian coastlines2. You will note that this involves the invasion of neutral countries. Of the German possibilities, the islands of Helgoland and Borkum were the two being heavily pushed by Churchill in late 1914 and early 1915. However, the greater problem would have been trying to hold enemy territory against what would surely have been massive counter attacks.
In the end, planning the Dardanelles naval attacks and the Gallipoli campaign took over the attention of Churchill and the War Cabinet2.
So, the raid on the airship base at Cuxhaven was thought up as being a way to forestall Zeppelin attacks on the UK, or indeed Entente forces on the Western Front, without committing ground forces. It was spurred on by the German navy attacking Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough on 16th December 1914. There was felt to be a need to “do something”.
Erskine Childers’ recruitment
On the outbreak of WWI, Churchill needed people who knew the Dutch and German coastline intimately. He asked Sir Henry Oliver, the Director of Naval Intelligence to find someone appropriate. Oliver failed in his attempt to recruit Gordon Shephard, as he had already left for service in the RFC in France, as of course part of the BEF. Oliver’s staff then tried to trace Erskine Childers – but why him? The answer lies in Childers’ sailing exploits.
Erskine and his brother Henry started sailing seriously when they bought a cutter, The Shulah, in 1893. Various localised sailing adventures with that and its successor Mad Agnes followed. In October 1897, he set off in another yacht, The Vixen, intending to pick up his brother and a friend at Boulogne and head West. However, the weather was not promising, so they headed East to the Friesian Islands on a journey which would be the inspiration for his only novel, The Riddle of the Sands. In 1905, he took delivery of The Askard, a wedding present from his father in law, Hamilton Osgood. Erskine and Molly Childers sailed The Askard to the Baltic in 1906 and 1913 (and elsewhere in between but the sailing records are patchy at best5). Certainly, the little channels of the Friesian islands and the Baltic archipelagos provide a wonderful sailing experience for the yachtsman. By August 1914, Childers had a detailed knowledge of the Dutch and German coastlines. That was his value to the Royal Navy.
So, Oliver’s staff sent out telegrams to trace Childers, one even being sent to the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers in Dublin! In early August, Erskine Childers reported to the Admiralty4 to be interviewed by his old friend Captain Herbert Richmond, Assistant Director of Naval Operations. He emerged a few hours later as a Lieutenant in the RNVR (Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve), never having previously having had anything to do with the Royal Navy. The upper class “old school tie” system was alive and well. (If you are not up to speed on naval ranks, a RN Lieutenant is equivalent to a captain in the army).
Geography of the German coast
Cuxhaven is a harbour town at the mouth the River Elbe, which leads up to the port of Hamburg, and guards the access to Hamburg. The island of Helgoland lies some way off the coast. Both were naval bases in 1914, although Wilhelmshaven was the major base on this stretch of coast.
The coast is flat with extensive mudflats, called Watt in German, hence the name of the area of sea as the Wattenmeer – “the sea of mudflats”. Just off Cuxhaven is the island of Neuwerk, some 12 km out, which can easily be reached on foot at low tide. Indeed, it is possible to walk out for 20km. So, if you can walk out that far, the sea is so shallow that it is impossible to bring large naval vessels close in, save for the defined shipping channels which back in the day would also have been well defended. That coupled with the flat, featureless coastline and the flat trajectory of high velocity shells from naval heavy guns would have rendered an effective coastal bombardment very difficult.
The flat expanse of the Wattenmeer at Cuxhaven, with the bundles of twigs to mark the walking route out to the island of Neuwerk
Erskine Childers’ naval service
Following his being recruited by Captain Oliver in early August, Childers was immediately given a small office in the Admiralty and asked to draft a plan for the invasion of the German island of Borkum, which he duly did, on his own, in three days4. The plan was quietly stifled by the War Office and senior figures in the navy who regarded the idea as idiotic and amateur. Considering that the Admiralty had given the task to an amateur who knew nothing about offensive seaborne operations, this is hardly surprising. It was another one of Churchill’s schemes which was quietly mothballed, never to see the light of day.
On 18th August 1914, Erskine Childers reported to the naval air base at Felixstowe, on the East coast. Two days later, he was attached to HMS Engadine, at the rather advanced age of 44. He was referred to as “uncle” by his fellow crew members. His primary function was to teach navigation to pilots and observers, using both charts and the stars. He also volunteered to be the ship’s intelligence officer.
This ship was literally an aircraft carrier, ie it carried aircraft, but at this stage in naval aviation the planes were seaplanes which had to be lowered on to the sea for take-off and then recovered from the sea, when they hopefully returned from their mission. It had been converted from a cross-channel ferry, in a process taking all of a week.
Childers is recorded as having been rescued along with his pilot when they had to land their seaplane off Hartlepool in late September. So, he was obviously involved in flying at an early stage of his naval career.
The Cuxhaven Raid
The officer in charge of the raid was Squadron Commander Cecil Malone. Of Childers input, he said:
The valuable assistance rendered by Lieutenant Erskine Childers RNVR, whose knowledge and experience connected with the navigation of the German coast proved invaluable in instructing the pilots.
And he referred to:
The energy expended by him in preparing charts and collecting topographical data.
Whilst one of Childers’ biographers has suggested that he acted as chief observer in the air and in effect, lead a close formation of aircraft, this is not what happened in 1914. Instead, the aircraft made their own way. There were up to 150 ships involved in various roles, all to facilitate the delivery of just 81.5 lbs (39kgs) of explosives (though in fact only a fraction of that was dropped in anger by the aircraft).
The plan was to launch the planes from a point north-east of the island of Helgoland and fly south west, to make a landfall in the Cuxhaven area. They were then to “seek out” the airship base. On their way back, they were to carry out reconnaissance missions, which were to find out whether:
- the Elbe lightships were still in place
- there was a channel through the minefield at the mouth of River Jade and, if so, whether there were buoys visible
- the exact anchorages of ships in Schillig Roads (near Wilhelmshaven) could be identified
- the number and types of ships in Wilhelmshaven harbour could be identified
- the location of the boom guarding Schillig Roads could be seen, and
- there were suitable targets in Schillig Roads for the British warships to fire at.
After the attack on the airship base and the reconnaissance, the planes were to fly westward, and follow the Friesian Islands as far as Norderney. They were then to turn north between Norderney and Juist to a point 20 miles north of Norderney where the carriers were to be waiting. Aircraft of this period did not carry radios. As well as surface ships, submarines were deployed to the area to act as rescue vessels for planes which had to land without finding their mother ship.
What the aircrews didn’t see – the Drehhalle (rotating hanger) at Nordholz, which could turn through 360o, to mitigate the effects of crosswinds when moving the airships in or out. This was to avoid hitting the fragile airship on the hanger doors. A complete rotation took an hour.
This was all happening on virtually the shortest day of the year on a foggy North Sea coast in the middle of the winter. On 25th December 1914, there was indeed fog along the coast. This led to uncertain navigation by the aircrews, and ultimately uncertainty about where they had been and what had happened. Consequently, the bombing missions, such as they were, had no success. From the German records, two veterans who had been stationed at the airship base at Nordholz at the time recall a British plane appearing out of the mist and it dropping two bombs which missed the hydrogen gasometer by 100m or more1. The anti-aircraft batteries fired at it vigorously. (This, incidentally, was the only occasion that bombs were dropped on or near Nordholz during the whole war). However, none of the British crews believed that they either had found the airship base or bombed it, however inaccurately.
So, who was the phantom pilot? Well, Gaskell Blackburn reported that he had dropped two bombs on ships in Wilhelmshaven harbour, and had been heavily fired at by anti-aircraft batteries. However, the Wilhelmshaven archives do not record any bombs falling on the harbour or the town on 25th December. Furthermore, there were no anti-aircraft batteries in the harbour or the town1. So, Blackburn’s plane seems to be the most likely candidate for the “phantom” attacker. If so, he was the only pilot to find the Nordholz airship base, even if he never realised it!
Flight Lieutenant Charles Edmonds was the only flier to undoubtedly bomb German warships. He dropped two bombs on the light cruisers Stralsund and Graudenz in the River Weser. The German records state that one was wildly inaccurate and the other was 200 meters away off the Graudenz beam, putting up a 10-meter column of water. Edmonds later carried out the world’s first torpedo attack from a plane, in 1915, and ultimately became an air vice marshal in the RAF3.
Another “first” for the Cuxhaven raid was an attack on a warship from the air. Edmonds certainly did so, but in addition the German airship L5 which was 20 sea miles north of Nordeney attacked the Royal Navy. It spotted a British submarine rescuing the crews of three planes. The submarine then dived. A number of RN surface ships were spotted going to recover the aircraft floating on the sea. To hinder this, L5 dropped two bombs without hitting the submarine or the surface ships.
Childers was the observer for Flight Commander Cecil Kilner in Short seaplane number 136. (Not all the planes carried observers, not least to save weight). In their joint report, they state that they reached the coast at 8.17am at an altitude of 1000 feet (330 meters). They encountered fog and had to drop to 200-300 feet (70-100 meters) in order to see the ground, as that is how they navigated.
“The fields were under hoar frost and the atmosphere was dull and dark”.
“Shortly after crossing the coastline, the engine began to misfire, possibly due to the extreme moisture of the atmosphere or to over lubrication.”
This problem continued for rest of their flight, dropping the revs from 1300 to 800 at times. They believed that the airship base was “a few miles” to the east of the village of Cappsiel. They located a village that they believed to be Cappsiel, and then searched east and south of it, without success3. The task was abandoned as the engine continued to misfire, and they reached the coast near the River Jade. They headed west-north-west to Schillig Roads. They were heavily fired at but Childers managed to identify various warships, albeit the seven battleships he reported as dreadnought classes Deutschland and Braunschweig were in fact pre-dreadnoughts, as the dreadnoughts in question were at Brunsbűttel at the time. Their report states that they did not drop any bombs on these vessels “as a hit did not seem practicable”. They flew to the island of Wangeroog to attack a submarine base but could not find it. At 9.40am, they headed north from Nordeney and were recovered by one of the aircraft carriers.
The Kilner/Childers plane was the only one to be able to do any of the reconnaissance tasks, and, even then, they were heavily shackled by poor visibility. They were able to establish that:
- there was no swept channel leading to the River Jade
- there was no boom defending the harbour at Schillig Roads, and
- no worthwhile targets were there.
None of the planes scouted the main naval base at Wilhelmshaven.
There were attacks on the Royal Navy ships by the airship L5 and by surface ships and submarines. However, the only shots actually fired by one surface ship at another was the German battleship SMS Wettin firing on a German trawler. In the end, the British losses were four men lost at sea, due to heavy weather on the following day. One of the sailors was from HMS Caroline, now a museum in Belfast. The weather was so bad that the ships were ordered to return to port. The navy lost four seaplanes and had some ships temporarily disabled because of the damage inflicted by the bad weather – two battleships, three destroyers and a submarine. The British flotilla was protected, as the German coast had been, by typical North Sea foggy weather.
There were various exaggerated claims for the effects of the Cuxhaven raid, including the myth that the battlecruiser Von der Tann had been damaged in a collision3, as it was not present in the battle of the Dogger Bank, four weeks later. In fact, the Von der Tann was in drydock for planned maintenance at that time, and could not be extricated when the operation was hastily rescheduled to take advantage of a break in the weather.
One major lesson on the efficacy of airships or aircraft attacking ships which emerged from the Cuxhaven raid was, to quote Commander Reginald Tyrwhitt3, that “given ordinary sea room, our ships have nothing to fear from seaplanes or Zeppelins”. That held good for the rest of WWI, but the tables were turned in WWII, when warships became very vulnerable to air attack.
A forgotten lesson of the raid was that submarines can be used to rescue downed aircrews in a concerted attack on the enemy. The US Navy did do this to good effect in the Pacific campaign in WWII, one notable rescued pilot being President George HW Bush, as he became later in life.
What did Erskine Childers do next?
In summary, his naval career was as follows6,7:
August 1914 – March 1915: HMS Engadine
March 1915 – December 1915: HMS Ben my Chree (another seaplane carrier, originally a Manx ferry). Service in Gallipoli and Egypt.
December 1915 – March 1916: Coastal Motor Boats in the North Sea
March 1916 – July 1917: Intelligence officer, the advanced seaplane base, Dunkirk
July 1917 – April 1918: Secretariat of the Irish Convention, Dublin
May 1918 – September 1918: Naval section of air intelligence at the Air Ministry
September 1918 – November 1918: Intelligence officer with no. 27 Group HQ, RAF Bircham Newton, working on the planned air raid on Berlin
November 1918 – December 1918: In Belgium, preparing report on bomb damage
March 1919: Discharged from service
He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander RNVR in December 1916 and was redesignated as a major when the RAF was formed in March 1918. He received a Mentioned in Despatches for the Cuxhaven raid in 1915, and a DSC in 1917 for his work in Egypt.
So, the arch Establishment figure of 1914-1918 became the hardline Irish Republican in 1919 who would not accept the Treaty in 1921. Many others have written about him and his Irish activities, doubtless more authoritatively than the present author ever could. However, I remain fascinated by his role as surely the oldest new lieutenant ever to grace an RNAS plane.
References
- Hein Carstens, Schiffe am Himmel, Verlag Heimatbund der Mȁnner von Morgenstern, Bremerhaven, 1997.
- Paul Halpern, A Naval History of World War I, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1994.
- RD Layman, The Cuxhaven Raid, Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985.
- Leonard Piper, The Life and Death of Erskine Childers, Hambledon and London, London and New York, 2003.
- Hugh and Robin Popham, A Thirst for the Sea, Stanford Maritime, London, 1979.
- The Private Papers of Lieutenant Commander RE Childers, DSC, RNVR, Imperial War Museum.
- Service records of Robert Erskine Childers, ADM-273-5-8, ADM-273-19-232, ADM-337-117-202, ADM-337-124-493, AIR-76-85-171, National Archives, Kew, London.
The photographs of the HMS Riviera, Short plane and the map are from the Layman book, which I would recommend to anyone seeking the detail of the Cuxhaven Raid.
“SomeKindHand” Pilgrimage Update (Number 1 of 2022)
Steve and Nancy Binks
As a way of commemorating the100th anniversary of the Great War, my wife Nancy and I set out in May 2012 to visit every burial ground and memorial in France and Belgium, where First World War servicemen were either buried or commemorated. In addition we vowed to stand at each headstone, read the serviceman’s name aloud, adding “Thank you”. The same act of remembrance would also be followed at the twenty two or so Memorials to the Missing; a collective “Thank you” added after each regiment, column, or panel, depending on the circumstances of the layout.
Over the following eight years, Nancy and I spent large chunks of our time travelling in our caravan and staying at local sites and renting gites in the winter months, in an effort to keep the Pilgrimage active all year round.
After a family bereavement, we returned home to North Wales in July 2018 until the spring of the following year when we started once again. We returned home in October 2019 with just a further 206 burial grounds to complete our Pilgrimage, and perhaps 6,000 burials and commemorations.
Covid was a blow to our plans; a false start in April 2021, led us to postpone any plans until the spring of 2022. We calculated that we needed about twelve weeks to complete our Pilgrimage. This seems excessive, however we are now towards the end of our Pilgrimage and what remains (with the exception of the department of the Marne) are the distant burial grounds where no British offensive took place, but Commonwealth servicemen are buried or commemorated. Although not exhaustive, casualties fall under the following circumstances: POW’s, RAF personnel, Red Cross staff, ship’s crews and military personnel, who were either killed in action, died at sea and then later their remains were washed ashore to be buried in the local cemetery. These 206 burial grounds contain around 6,000 casualties and will take us across four Belgian provinces and over fifty French departments, from the Atlantic sea to Cannes, to Strasbourg, to Bordeaux.
We set off on the 4th May. Thankfully having not booked our crossing before the unfortunate events at P&O, we went with DFDS, booking a week at the popular Jeugdstadion campsite, in walking distance to the Menin Gate. We had 25 sites to complete our Belgian Pilgrimage. The vast majority were communal cemeteries and churchyards in West Flanders, where the local citizens or the enemy had buried British casualties, in occupied territory.
This chapter of the Pilgrimage had got off to the worst possible start when the front passenger door of our minibus refused to open and the ordering of a new door lock (and a three day delay) at the VW dealership in Ypres failed to alleviate the problem!
After a delayed period in Ypres, we departed for the Ardennes, en route visiting the isolated burials of 23 servicemen in the communal cemetery at Houyet, dropping the caravan at a service station and doubling back.
Our chosen caravan site in the Ardennes was Douzy, just east of Sedan and from here we visited a further 15 burial sites, the vast majority containing POW casualties from the Battle of the Aisne (May 27th – June 6th 1918). The burial grounds included several French National Cemeteries (FNC), as described by CWGC, “Necropole” to the French. Many of these sites are no longer signposted or “pinned” on Google Maps! In addition we have been unable to use the very handy CWGC app, which marries cemetery burials with map location.
The mini heat wave we had so far experienced didn’t follow us to the department of the Marne, where on the 18th May we booked in o the municipal campsite at Epernay for seven days and a further 26 burial grounds and the last group of Commonwealth War Grave cemeteries remaining on our Pilgrimage.
Stepping out of the vehicle, locating the disabled access point for Nancy’s wheelchair, then handing her the cemetery register whilst I toddle off to my first plot, has been our life for almost ten years. Recognising that we were visiting the very last few CWGC cemeteries was a bit of a moment!
On Friday 20th May, we visited our last remaining CWGC burial ground with over 1,000 burials, Marfaux British Cemetery (1,129). In keeping with all our visits to British cemeteries in the Marne (on this current trip) Marfaux was yet another post Armistice cemetery with the vast majority of burials being those of XX11 Corps (51st (Highland) and 62nd (West Riding) Divisions) from the Second Battle of the Marne (15th July – 16th August, 1918). Marfaux also brought to a close our reading of the names of all Memorials to the Missing. With a collective “Thank you”, I read the names of the 10 servicemen of the New Zealand Cyclist Battalion, inscribed on a single stone panel of the covered shelter.
Three days later, we visited our last CWGC cemetery that I considered to be off the beaten track, Courmas British Cemetery, 207. Who knows how much we have spent in vehicle repairs over the years, attempting a journey regularly carried out by the gardeners and their vehicles!
At Bouilly Cross Road Military cemetery on the same day, I was surprised to see several known and unknown 1914 burials. After doing some makeshift gardening to unearth the officer’s epitaph, I was able to photograph the headstones of two serviceman who were separated by almost four years of war, as both had died during Battles of the Marne.
It’s not possible through time constraints or budget (whatever that is!) to spend idle time. Caravan arrival and moving days fall in to this category. The cost of fuel (a fraction under 2 euros when we arrived) has caused us to question the mileage undertaken from campsite to burial grounds and would necessitate more visits with the caravan in tow and “off grid” accommodation.
We departed Epernay on Wednesday morning 25th May, en-route to Verdun (Meuse), where we were due to arrive the following day. The journey included 6 burial grounds; 3 undertaken with the caravan attached and our first night off grid. Due to the Ascension Day (bank holiday in France), it became two days off grid, the second spent in the car park of the world famous sugared almond factory in Verdun (courtesy of the very helpful Verdun Tourism Office!)
Because of lost time in Ypres, we were unable to spend the three days that I had promised Nancy at the outset of our planning. We therefore spent the late afternoon on the Quai de Londres, taking in the sun in this lovely town. After which we drove the short distance to Glorieux FNC to say “thank you” to the two British casualties buried there.
The following day we drove the caravan to three sites, en route to our next campsite, Esche sur Azelette, just over the French border into Luxembourg. The last of these was at the communal cemetery in Lonwgy (Meurthe et Moselle), where I expected to encounter a few problems with one of the two casualties. It was detailed as a “special memorial”, on the CWGC site. Surprisingly I found both headstones, side by side, in a small French military plot, tucked in to the corner of the cemetery, behind some bushes. The burial ground of the French and British graves was in a sad state of neglect; a common occurrence in many village communal cemeteries since we moved from the Ardennes!
At Mareuil sur Ay, near Epernay, I was so upset with the neglect shown to the two unknown servicemen’s graves, I contacted my friend at CWGC headquarters in Beaurains to raise my concerns. I have been told to send in photographic evidence, and the local Marie will be contacted. (Away from the usual CWGC sites, French or Belgian local councils are responsible for the upkeep of the Commonwealth graves).
We then spent three nights in Luxembourg, visiting a further 7 sites, bordering Meurthe-Moselle and the department of Moselle.
By the end of almost four weeks, we have visited 77 of 206 sites and said “Thank you” to 3,387 servicemen. Tomorrow we move to Metz before we tackle the French-German border burials of Alsace Lorraine.
“We Will Remember Them”.
Our first visit. The plot of honour, outside the church at Slypskapelle, (west of Kortrijk) and the single grave of 2/Lt. David Burns, of the 8/Black Watch, who fell during the liberation of the town, 30th September, 1918. Born in Valparaiso, Chile, David was 19 years old.
German memorial, in St. Charles communal cemetery, Sedan. Erected in 1915, when it was much more substantial in size. Given the German occupation of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian war, it seems strange that the French would allow this memorial to remain, even though there are no longer any German burials. The cemetery contains 49 British servicemen, almost certainly POW’s.
The graves of three servicemen in what I can only describe as a “pit” in the communal cemetery of Arcis le Ponsart, (Marne). The corner of the cemetery was being used as a dumping ground. Privates Nichols, Shillito (both AVC) and Sapper Picken (RE) deserve to remembered in a more dignified way than this!
The four headstones of British servicemen erected adjacent to the ossuaries that hold their remains at Montmedy German Cemetery.
Campbell VC
The Man Behind the Medals
Keith Walker
Introduction
In November 2017, I bought the latest edition of the magazine Medal News. Inside was an advertisement by the auctioneers Morton & Eden of London for an auction to be held on the 23rd of November 2017. One of the items was the Victoria Cross group to Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell Royal Navy (b 6th January 1886 d 3rd July 1953, aged 67).
With my interest in the Royal Navy and the “Q” ships of WW1, they were disguised armed merchant ships manned by the Royal Navy and used to lure German submarines to attack them. I wrote an article in our newsletter Dragon’s Voice of March 2017 about the “Q” ships and our own North Wales VC, William Williams VC DSM and Bar RNR, who was closely linked to the “Q” ships and his Captain, Gordon Campbell.
I checked after the auction took place and found that the medals had been sold for a world record £840,000. The medals had been put up for auction by the Fellowship of St John (UK) Trust association. The trust is a Christian charity that works in missionary and education in the UK Africa, India, the Americas and Japan. The trust has said that the proceeds of the sale will support a number of their projects that they are involved in, including an orphanage in Zimbabwe, university scholarships in South Africa, hurricane relief in the West Indies and various charities in the UK.
The medals were bequeathed on his death to the trust by the son of Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell, Frederick David Campbell BA, b 1915 d 12th June 2010. He was aged 95 and was an Anglican priest and a member of the monastic community of the Society of St John the Evangelist. His first curacy was at Portsea before becoming chaplain in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He further served as a curate at Fareham, then as a missionary in London. After 1960, he was Prior at St Edwards House London. He died at St Johns Home, Oxford, England, a St John residential care home.
In a strange twist to this story, the medals were bought by another member of the family. He is Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza, the great nephew of Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell. The Baron is a Swiss national born (15th June 1963). He is an industrialist and art collector. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He has stated that the medals are of national interest and he intends to display them in a naval museum.
The Medals.
Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order with two bars, the 1914 – 15 Star, British War and Victory Medals, Defence and War Medals, and two Coronation medals. There are also two French medals: the Legion d’Honneur, and the Croix de Guerre. The medals were awarded between 1914 and 1953.
The Man.
I will give a brief synopsis of the life and naval career of Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell VC.
1886
Gordon Campbell was born in Croydon, Sussex on the 6th January 1886. He was the 13th child of 16 children born to Colonel Hon Frederick Campbell CB, VD, JP (b1842 d1926) and Emille Guillmine Campbell nee Maclaine (b 1850 d 1928).
1893
Educated Dulwich prep school and college
1901
Joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet at HMS Britannia, Dartmouth.
1911
Promoted to lieutenant.
Married Mary J Davids (b 1888 d 1974) on the 14th January 1911 at Guildford
1912
Captain of HMS Ranger (10th October 1912 – April 1913). HMS Ranger was a Sunfish class destroyer of 340 tons with armament of 1x 12Pdr gun, 2x torpedo tubes. Crew of 53 officers and men.
1913
Captain of HMS Bittern (April 1913 – September 1915). HMS Bittern was a “C” class destroyer of 400 tons, with armament of 1x 12Pdr gun, 5x 6Pdr guns, 2x torpedo tubes.
1915
Birth of his son Frederick David Gordon Campbell (b 1915 d 2010)
The actions
March 1916 promoted Commander and detached to special services. From March 1916 until November 1917 Campbell was the captain of various “Q” ships. It was during this time that he was awarded his VC and DSO and two bars.
21st March 1916 when the captain of “Q” ship HMS Farnborough, Campbell was awarded Distinguished Service Order (DSO). In this action, German submarine U68 was sunk.
1917
17th February 1917 when captain of “Q” ship HMS Farnborough Campbell was awarded Victoria Cross (VC). William Williams was awarded his Distinguished Service Medal (DSM). In this action, the German submarine U83 was sunk. HMS Farnborough was beached, later towed to port, but was badly damaged, and so of no further use to the Navy. She was sold for scrap in 1919.
2nd June 1917 as captain of “Q” ship HMS Pargust, Campbell awarded Bar to his Distinguished Service Order. William Williams DSM RNR was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). In this action, the German submarine U29 was sunk. HMS Pargust was towed to port and repaired. In 1919, she was returned to merchant fleet.
June 1917: promoted to the rank of captain. He would have held the rank of commander before this promotion.
8th August 1917 as captain of “Q” ship HMS Dunraven, Campbell was awarded Second Bar to Distinguished Service Order. William Williams VC DSM was awarded a Bar to his DSM. In this action, HMS Dunraven had a long engagement with the German submarine UC71. This submarine survived the war. The crew tried to rescue HMS Dunraven but failed and she sunk.
During this period March 1916 until November 1917, I have found after further research of medal rolls etc. Captain Campbell and his crew were awarded:
5 Victoria Crosses
5 Distinguished Service Orders
2 Bars to Distinguished Service Order
8 Distinguished Service Crosses
5 Bars to Distinguished Service Crosses
39 Distinguished Service Medals
4 Bars to Distinguished Service Medals
and numerous Mentions in Despatches.
1917 November
Captain of HMS Active (November 1917 – April 1918) a 3,340 ton light cruiser. Armament 10x 4 inch guns, 4x 3 pdr guns, 2x torpedo tubes. Complement of 293 officers and men.
1918
Captain of HMS Patrol (April 1918 – January 1919) a 2,940 tons light cruiser. Armament of 9x 4inch guns 6x 6pdr guns, and 2x torpedo tubes. Complement of 268 officers and men.
1919
Captain of HMS Cumberland (1st January 1919 – 15th April 1920) a 2,800 ton armoured cruiser. Armament of 14x 6inch guns, 15x torpedo tubes. Complement 525 officers and men.
1921
Captain Campbell took over the command on the 5th Feb 1920 of the training ship HMS Impregnable, a shore establishment base at Devonport.
Birth of his daughter, Flora Mary Gordon Campbell (b 5th April 1921- d 6th March 1971).
1922
Captain Campbell was made Captain in Charge of HMS Flora from (1st December 1922 – 6th May 1925) the base ship of the training establishment at Simonstown, South Africa.
1925
Captain of HMS Tiger (1st November 1925 – 30th July 1927) a battle cruiser of 28,500 tons. Armament 4×2 turrets of 13.5 inch guns, 13x 5 inch guns, 12x 6 inch guns, and 4 torpedo tubes. Complement 1,459 officers and men. This was Captain Campbell’s last sea command.
1928
Promoted to Rear Admiral on the 5th April 1928 and placed on the retired list.
1931
Elected MP for Burnley from 1931 until 1935.
1932
Promoted Vice Admiral on the 31st December 1932 and on the retired list
1939
Recalled to the Royal Navy.
1940
Reported sick with angina and was retired from the service
1953
Death 3rd July 1953
The “Q” ships and their operations are subject to ongoing research. The link between “Q” ships and room 40 the Admiralty in secret code breaking and radio intercepts is being investigated. In the British records of the 202 German submarines lost between 1914 and 1918, 11 are attributed to “Q” ships. In the German records, there are only 10 submarines lost to “Q” ships. The mystery submarine was UB80 which was in an action in the South West of English Channel on the 30th July 1918 with HMS Stock Force, a “Q” ship captained by Lieutenant Harold Auten RNR. After a long fierce engagement, the crew of HMS Stock Force stated that they had put 20 shells into UB80 but UB80 survived the war together with her Captain and crew. Her log book states:-
“Attack on 1,500 ton approx. steamer (tanker) Course Guernsey to Lizard. Fired G6AV torpedo. Hit. Range 1,200 metres. Remained at periscope depth and observed steamer that seemed suspicious and only sank slowly. After about 15 minutes, the steamer started to sink at the bow. Surfaced at about 400 metres distance. The steamer opened fire with several concealed guns. Crash-dive. During the dive, the boat took two hits. Went to 11 metres depth, fired a second torpedo despite inability to raise either periscope. Remained submerged until dusk. Surfaced. One shot had penetrated the bridge shield and periscope support. Both periscopes had broken lenses, were filled with seawater and useless. Without periscopes, the boat had to return round the north of England because of the light nights and the necessary use of a periscope for Channel route”
Signed Kapitanleutnant Max Viebeg
Max Viebeg (b 6th April 1887 – d 9th November 1961) was an highly decorated naval officer. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine as a cadet in 1906. He was awarded, in date order that he received them, the Iron Cross 2nd class, Iron cross 1st class, the Royal Order of Hohenzollern, Pour-le-Merite and the Saxe-Ernestine House Order. He retired from the military in 1920. He left Germany to manage a tea plantation in Java.
After this action, Lieutenant Harold Auten (b 22nd August 1891 – d 3rd October 1964) was awarded the Victoria Cross and out of his crew of forty four, twenty three received medals or were Mentioned in Despatches.
The bravery of Captain Campbell and Captain Auten and their crews to sit and wait while your ship is hit with torpedos and is sinking before you are allowed to open fire is hard to understand. The discipline of the crews was exemplary. They were in the true traditions of the Royal Navy.
WW1 German U-Boat Types
Prefix U. Ocean going diesel powered torpedo attack boats
Prefix UB Coastal torpedo attack boats
Prefix UC Coastal mine layers
Prefix UE Ocean going mine layers
Reference’s and acknowledgements :-
Smoke and Mirrors by Deborah Lake published 2006 by Sutton Publishing Ltd
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