Don Wilson
enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces, or Militia, in 1937 but when World War II
broke out his thoughts turned to the sea. Don had always loved the ocean and had
sailed in his youth, so in May 1940 he joined the Royal Australian Navy. After completing
an anti-submarine course, Don was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant. He was then seconded
to the Royal Navy, embarking for Britain on the same ship that had carried his father
to World War I, the SS Themistocles. Don’s father served with the 13th Battalion
and was wounded at Gallipoli.Following his arrival in Britain, Don served on trawlers patrolling the east coast of England, escorting convoys and rescuing survivors from ships that had been sunk by enemy action or mines. When his trawler put into port for repairs, Don sought a transfer to a destroyer and served in HMS Whitshed until January 1942, when a call went out for volunteers to serve in submarines.
Don had been quite taken with a British submarine he saw in harbour so he volunteered to join the submariners. After completing an officer submariners’ course he was assigned to ferry a British-built submarine, Murat Rhys, to Gibraltar where it was handed over to the Turkish Navy. Don was then assigned to HMS P31, one of only five British submarines given number designations instead of names during World War II. P31 was based in Malta and Alexandria, Egypt, patrolling from the North African coast to the Gulf of Taranto, Italy.
Don recalled the aerial bombing of Malta was often so severe that the crew would have to submerge to 30 feet to conduct repairs while in port. The conditions inside the submarine were cramped, but there was always a great sense of camaraderie and belonging.
P31 continued to serve in the Mediterranean until she returned to England for a refit at the end of 1942. Following P31’s return to sea, Don developed pneumonia and, by the time the boat had reached Portsmouth, needed hospitalisation. Don remained in hospital for a month recovering, during which time P31 returned to the Mediterranean.
In February 1943, Don was assigned as second-in-command of the submarine HMS Untiring, which was under construction in the Vickers shipyards at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The boat’s first patrol was to Norway and North Cape, before heading to the Mediterranean. On 14 December 1943, Untiring fired two torpedoes at a German mine-laying ship in Monaco harbour while it was loading mines. They scored a direct hit and the resultant explosion broke virtually every window in Monte Carlo. In Don's words, "We were the man who broke the bank in Monte Carlo!"
In early 1944, Untiring was patrolling off the Hyeres Islands, off southern France, when it sighted an important looking vessel leaving Toulon harbour. Don remembered the ship had a large escort and was flying three anti-aircraft balloons to prevent aerial attacks. Untiring fired off four torpedoes, scoring a hit before diving in an attempt to avoid enemy detection. After half an hour, Untiring returned to periscope depth to find the enemy escorts waiting. A series of depth charges exploded as Untiring tried to return to the deep. Despite suffering extensive damage from more than 300 explosions, Untiring was able to make her escape below a thermal layer. For his "courage, skill and devotion to duty" on this patrol, Don was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Don continued to serve in Untiring until he attended an officer command course in May 1945. He was promoted to Lieutenant and appointed to command the submarine HMS Voracious. Voracious was on her way to join the British Pacific Fleet when peace was declared. Don commanded the submarine on a tour to Brisbane, Melbourne and Hobart before leaving the boat in Australia and then being discharged in March 1946.
Don married Phyllis Westbrooke in 1939 and after the war they bought a property at Wildes Meadow, growing cabbages and potatoes, before they were allocated a soldier settler block at Gundaroo, near Canberra. After 16 years at Gundaroo, Don and Phyllis moved to Papua New Guinea and bought their own island in the Solomon Sea. They grew copra and coffee on the island plantation until 1981, when they returned to Australia. Phyllis passed away in 1994.
Don married Joan Tebbutt-Scharkie in 1995 and together they enjoy travelling, attending the International Submariner Meeting in Germany last year. Don is also a member of the Submariners’ Association of Australia.