SM4 The Poms

THE FOURTH SUBMARINE SQUADRON

The Royal Navy 4th Submarine Squadron Based IN Sydney, AUSTRALIA

The RN's 4th Submarine Squadron based at HMAS Penguin was established under the command of Commander S/M (later Vice Admiral) I.L.M. McGeoch DSO DSC RN. This event was accompanied by the arrival of a "T" class submarine to provide anti submarine training for the RAN and RAAF.

December 1949 TELEMACHUS arrived in Sydney.
January 1950 THOROUGH arrived in Sydney.
July 1950 TACTICIAN arrived in Sydney.

These three submarines served until 1957 being refitted in Singapore during their service in Australia.

They were replaced by three "A" class submarines AUROCHS, ANDREW and ANCHORITE during the period 1957-1960. Indecently, ANDREW was the submarine used in the original film "On the Beach".

These boats were replaced by a streamlined TAPIR in 1960 and three "T" class conversions. TABARD 1961, TRUMP and TACITURN in 1962.

The "T" conversions had an extra 20 foot section added, and were the test bed for the later "P" and "O" class boats. They refitted at Cockatoo Island Dockyard commencing with TABARD in 1960

A total of ten submarines were stationed in Sydney during the years 1949 to 1969. Offered to the RAN for training purposes, the flotilla usually comprised three or four boats, but, from 1963, was gradually reduced in numbers. Three submarines were in service in 1966 and two during 1967-68. Trump served into 1969 before leaving for Britain on 10th of January.

On 18 August 1967 the first Australian Submarine Squadron was formed under the command of Commander SM (later Captain) W.I. OWEN RN. With the commissioning of HMAS PLATYPUS at Neutral Bay, as the RAN’s submarine base to support the Squadron, consisting of HMAS OXLEY, HMS TABARD and HMS TRUMP. After the arrival at the new base of OXLEY, Australia had her first submarine for 36 years.

The commissioning of PLATYPUS replaced the RN’s Fourth Submarine Squadron , but the submarines TRUMP and TABARD continued to serve in Australia under RAN operational control. These RN submarines were gradually replaced by the RAN Oberons with the last returning to the UK in 1969

Two more Oberons were ordered for the RAN in 1971 and from the Period December 1972 to May 1975 the RN submarine HMS ODIN was loaned to the Australian Submarine Squadron to maintain force levels during the refit of OXLEY

On commissioning of HMAS PLATYPUS on 18 August 1967, Royal Australian Navy Submarine Squadron was established. It consisted of HMAS OXLEY, HMS/ms TABARD and TRUMP and replaced the Royal Navy's Fourth Submarine Squadron (SM4). The two Royal Navy submarines TABARD and TRUMP were replaced over the next two years by Australian Oberon class submarines.

The Squadron in Sydney was originally established in 1949 under the command of Commander (later Rear Admiral) I.L.M. McGeoch CB DSO, DSM RN and consisted of HMS/ms THOROUGH, TELEMACHUS and TACTIAN. Until 18 August 1967 the Squadron has been part of the Royal Navy under government agreement between Great Britain and Australia.

The following stories have been submitted by those that served with SM4.

NIGGER
In 1951 a large black dog wandered into HMAS PENGUIN in Sydney, Australia and was adopted by the Fourth Submarine Division He was christened "Nigger" and over the course of time became the mascot of the squadron. Nigger remained with the division and was cared for entirely by the ship’s company, including his Veterinary Surgeons fees an item never insignificant in his early fighting days and again latterly as he grew older. With unfailing regularity Nigger saw every submarine off to sea and again on return to harbour, boarded any transport with submarine ratings in it and kept HMAS PENGUIN clear of lesser dogs.

Waiting for the RN boats to come in.

 

Peter Smith found this story on Nigger and thinks it may have been written by CAPT Bill Owen as a tribute to the death of the dog.

His early days were full of energy and vigour, he has been known on many occasions to leave PENGUIN at the same time as the bus to Neutral Bay, a distance of 7 miles from the depot, and, no matter how hard the bus driver tried , Nigger would always be on the jetty before the bus arrived. He took an active part in all sports. He was a good swimmer and a great footballer (as many a league referee found to his confusion). He would run after the ball and if by chance took hold of the lacing it was a long and hard chase that followed.

Nigger’s aquatic ability was outstanding, he would nudge anyone he fancied into the pool and stroke for stroke the race was on. His interests were wide and varied. He didn’t like alcohol but when in the wet canteen did his utmost to bolster the profits of a well known chocolate firm. Even if the beers didn’t interest him the sing-songs were right up his street and joined in lustily. Like a true submariner he roamed the depot looking for WRANS who were all fond admirers of him. It has been said before now that submariners are a crazy lot, Nigger was no exception. He would spend hours chasing seagulls up and down the jetty with nothing to show for it at the end. His runs ashore varied from Sunday dinner at home with an RA, an afternoon on Plonk Island off Balmoral Beach to really good run on a Saturday night to Manly Hotel with the VM’s One particular Saturday the manager asked for Nigger to be removed, the VM’s moved instead and had a better run at the Pacific Hotel, the Manly taking less that evening than for a long time. One outstanding feature that separated him from other submariners was that he was very tidy. When he had finished his fish and chip supper he would screw up the remains in the paper and push it all into a corner of the mess deck and then look around waiting for applause.

Despite the fact that Nigger loved salt water he hated fresh and it would take some considerable effort by three or four stalwarts to drag him into the bathroom for a wash. Many submariners past and present from HM Submarines TELEMACHUS, THOROUGH, TACITICIAN, ANDREW, AUROCHS, ANCHORITE, TAPIR, TABARD, TACITURN and TRUMP will remember his antics and companionship around the depot, on his Sunday morning walks and on the front row seat he always occupied in PENGUIN cinema. Nigger, if he could talk, would probably tell much more but unfortunately he met with an accident outside PENGUIN on 11 January 1965 and died the following day.

Nigger meant a lot to the Fourth Submarine Division and he will be sadly missed, but all those in the Submarine Service and the Royal Australian Navy, who knew him. It is hoped that eventually he will be put in place of honour in the Submarine Museum in HMS DOLPHIN as a lasting tribute to his faithfulness.

25 January 1965.
Office of the Commander S/M,
Fourth Submarine Division,
Balmoral Naval Depot,
Sydney.

The Honest Coxswain?

When I was based in Penguin as the Escape Cox'n from 1964 to 66, my most important job was as Bar Manager of the CPO's Mess (it was just like the Windmill Theatre in

London during WWII, 'We never close"). Anyway arriving onboard one Sunday morning at 0800 to open up only to discover that there was no water on in both the Chiefs and PO's mess. No water meant no 'temperite system' to cool the beer.

Not wishing to dip out on a Sunday's profitable trade, especially as we had a Jazz band which used to come in on a voluntary basis I walked round Penguin and collect all the Gardeners hoses and fittings and then ran a hose from the Junior Sailors mess down the hill and over the road to the cellar where the cooling system was.

Needless to say I had to front up the Base Commander "Snowy' Gafford on the Monday morning as all the civvy gardeners where complaining about the loss of their hoses. Myself and 'Bill' Sykes CRE made a fortune behind that bar. But the best part was that we were pad twenty pound a month by the Mess Treasure as wages for doing it!

by Derek Lilliman

A photograph of HMS Amphion in Sydney Harbour		HMS Trump

 Nick's SM4 Recollections

Some of the memories of SM4 that I can recall are during the period 1956-1959, in no particular order.

A name that always comes to mind is Stwd Buckwheat Harris. He was probably known by all in the RN Submarine Service whether members had met him or not. During his time with SM4 his exploits were many. One that comes to mind was when he was up before Capt. S/M and got a fine, normally meant stoppage of pay. Not for Buckwheat – he took out his wallet and paid it straight away. Another time he was sent to a psychiatrist and fell asleep on the couch. He came away with a certificate saying he was sane and took great pleasure in producing it when anyone questioned his sanity – which was often.

Chef Danny Rasmussen (since passed away) was another character (and a good mate of Buckwheat). When visiting Newcastle he was duty chef and couldn’t get a relief to get away early, so went ashore and purchased fish suppers for all to avoid cooking. The look on the wardrooms face as he dumped their dinner, still wrapped in paper, on the table wa a sight to behold.

A minor mutiny took place about ‘57-58 when one of the boats was up for the annual S/M’s inspection. A dispute arose with the Coxsn and one of the lads, which spread like wild fire. As was customary in those days all the boats crew joined the duty watch to complete the job of getting the boat ready. Well, instead everyone declined. One lad ended up in the cells at Penguin, after being given a going over by the Coxn and 2nd Scratcher. All charges were dropped in the end and a cover-up took place

Buckwheat and Mike Pearson 2001

Then of course there was "Nigger", the ratings dog. He was a black Labrador which followed one of the lads back onboard Penguin one night. The owners were contacted and they said we could keep him. He had an aversion for the Captain of Penguins dog and many was the time we were told he had to go, but he never did. Whenever there was a boat alongside he was always there for his tot and was even taken to Plats to have his ration if no boat was at Penguin.

Putting sharks in the swimming pool when the WRANS were about to do their swimming test, seemed like a good lark at the time. Funny how they always blamed the submariners for it!!!

Parades were not one of the submariners favourite items and fortunately they didn’t come around too often. But when they did watching the submariners march past was not a pretty thing. Trouble also arose in that they played a march which had among the words "we’re a bunch of bastards" otherwise know as Dockyard Matey’s March to which the lads song as they marched. Went down like a lead balloon with Penguin Captain!!!

Somewhere along the line, somebody knocked of a bus stop sign – the old type, which was a piece of 4 x 4 timber painted yellow. This was then sawn in three, hinged, wrapped and presented to one of the lads going home. It was passed along to others at a later date. Never knew what happened to it.
The Pub of choice in Sydney at the time was the Royal Standard. This was at the time when pubs shut for an hour and when they re-opened, you had to have a partner to get in. The Royal let the submariners in without partners providing that there were at least a few females at our tables. We were so well liked at the pub that when one of the boats was going home – Thorough, I think - they laid on the beer and other goodies for the send off.

When I first arrived in 1956, the Olympic Games were being held in Melbourne and after landing and spending the weekend in Sydney, some of us were sent to Melbourne to relieve the lads going home. We were open to visitors and quite a crowd was on the jetty. About half a dozen lads came out of the fore-ends hatch and started to do a soft-shoe shuff

HM/sm Thorough under the bridge

le, hats in hand. All went well till one of them fell of the casing. The roar from the crowd must have been heard in Sydney.

An incident took place off the NSW coastline just off the continental shelf when the foreplanes jammed hard to dive, sometime in the mid late ‘50’s. I think it was the Aurochs. Anyway I was P.O.’s messman at the time and it was round about lunchtime. We had tinned chook for lunch and with all the action of the boat porpoising, the accom passageway was strewn with chicken bones from the gash buckets, for one end to the other. At one time it was estimated that we had a 43o bow down angle – taken from readings of the forwd and after depth gauges. Never did find out what depth we actually ended up at but the deck boards were creaking at one time. An interesting episode.

I also had the "privilege ?" of doing duty of Wardroom steward for a very short period. When ask by the skipper (Dickie Mason – I think) how things were, I mentioned that one of his motley mob was using his plate as an ashtray. He told me to use the wardroom ashtray for his plate, which I did at the next meal. Thankfully, the skipper was in the wardroom at the time, but things were not too cosy with the offended occifer for some time after, to say the least.

by Nick (Swampy) Carter

Memories of the Fourth
I was a Chief Radio Electrician in the Fourth Submarine Division and served on HM Submarines TABARD, TAPIR and TRUMP from 1963 to 1965, the first two briefly, the latter for the greater part of my time in SYDNEY. One of the good things about boats was the scope for individual eccentrics. One of these was undoubtedly "Buckwheat" HARRIS, the wardroom Leading Steward.

Buckwheat left one boat under something of a cloud – it was sometime before they found the kipper he had nailed under the wardroom table! Apocryphal yarn - brand new Subby – Buckwheat: "Kipper or haddock, sir?" "Kipper please, steward". On its arrival – Subby "Steward, I said haddock". Buckwheat (allegedly) picked the kipper up by the tail and brushed Subby’s face, saying "Kippers you wants, so kippers you gets" – the yarn spread like wildfire. Buckwheat was on TRUMP with me. Going ashore one day with an old-fashioned (rectangular section) medicine bottle not fully concealed in his pocket, was stopped by the cox’n. "What have you got there, HARRIS?" "Cough mixture ‘swain" – "Look – see- I thought so – rum – never believe the label, off you go and think yourself lucky you haven’t got a 50lb blow under your bonnet!" A few days later, at sea, Tanky (our messman) got the sweet up – tinned pears. Tin was opened – tomatoes! A head came around the mess curtain – "Never believe the label, ’swain". He’d steamed off and transferred the labels!

Buckwheat was detailed off to baby sit (which didn’t please him) for Commander S/M and Commander (E); they had four children between them. There is a well-known matelot’s song. "The Lobster". Arriving back from the social occasion just after Cinderella time, they found Buckwheat and a drunken stoker chum beaming benevolently, while the children were dancing round the table singing "We chased the f---ing lobster all around the room." – Buckwheat was never detailed to baby sit again!
Coming down from Hong Kong to Sydney on HMS AENEAS we were looking for the loom of the light at Darwin. Our navigator was a Lieutenant RNR and a noted tosspot and womaniser. "Bridge to control room" – "Control Room! Tell the Captain I have seen the light" – "Bridge! Message passe

HM/sm Aurochs Taken about 1957-58 by Melbourne Herald & Weekly Photographer

d to the Captain, from the Captain, about time too!"

Back to boats, I think TAPIR. We were at 90 feet at night, red lighting in the control room – "black lighting "we used to call it. Slow ahead together group down, perfect trim – in fact, I told the planesman to lock his planes to amidships. I could keep depth and bubble quite happily. At each end of the tubular tapper bar that operated the ’planes were wooden handles in the shape of elongated barrels. It was an idiosyncrasy of mine that I never used them, just the insides of my wrists on the bar. A handle dropped off into the bilges between the shallow water depth gauges. "Raggy" The Chief Stoker was on the diving panel besides me. With a red torch, he started to grope for it. "Don’t bother Raggy, I don’t need it". Eventually he retrieved it, using cotton waste wiped it off with a flourish and replaced it.

The OOW was the Engineer Officer, who was affectionately nicknamed "Padders’ or "the Mekon" after a children’s comic character, we started to lose depth very slowly 89 feet… 88 feet… 87… told the foreplanesman to give me a hand to get her down again, when Padders started to ‘back seat drive’ – "put 5 degrees of bubble on, Chief". Muttering (inaudibly) in my (non existent) beard "I was chasing bubbles when you were blowing them – never mind the bubble, she’s bodily light get something in amidships and/or speed up". Still, despite 5 degrees of after bubble, she was very slowly losing depth.

The skipper came into the control room at a rate of knots – "Officer of the Watch when depth ordered is 90 feet, what are we doing at 220 feet?" Definite occasion for a big dhoby bill! You may ask what had happened? Both shallow water gauges were supplied from outside the hull by a common pipe. Groping around, Raggy had accidentally shut off the cock on this pipe. Each gauge had a pinhole bleed off. As they bled off, pressure lessened, thus indicating a shallower depth. The uncomfortable, small and badly sited deep gauge was between the ’panesman’s seats – you had to lean right back to see it. Nasty – could have gone to crushing depth.

By R.N. Dicky Elliott

Thorough’S Jolly Roger
I was a member of the Royal Navy’s Fourth Submarine Division based at HMAS PENGUIN in Sydney, serving on HMS THOROUGH under the command of Lieutenant Commander R.C.H. MASON, along with HMS Submarines TACTICIAN and TELEMACHUS from 1954 till 1957. Having completed a refit in Singapore during 1956, THOROUGH was ordered to carry out gun action bombardment along the east coast of Malaysia against the native Communist guerrilla camps. After the action we were given permission to fly the Jolly Roger, which was hastily put together for entering harbour back in Singapore. This was the first time the Jolly Roger had been flown since the end of the Second World War.

Anchorite Jolly
I only served for a short time I have not had much contact with any submariners, except when visiting Western Australia and my son (CPO RAN) arranged a visit over a boat alongside in Garden Island. What an interesting experience, it was mind boggling. My experience happened in 1960 when based in Kuttabul (ie old Kuttabul or hotel Charlemont as we called it). I volunteered to (yes I know) to report to Penguin for a temporary draft which turned out to be a seagoing effort in HM/sm ANCHORITE. I had never been below decks or even on the casing of a submarine and yet they gave me the afternoon off after asking whether i was g or t ????? very happy when it was explained a tot each day was available each day. I returned the next day for what I thought was to be a months working up around Jervis Bay and then to Hobart and then return to Sydney. Much to my suprise we headed north and that was when the PORS told me we heading to Auckland via Suva, Tonga ans Apia, then running out of Auckland. We would return to Sydney some time in October or November. As I had no knowledge of the workings of a submarine only that they dived and hopefully surfaced again I was given quite a through briefing of what was required of me and the extra curricular duties that an RO was expected to do, that was a blow. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable yet hard yakka trips I experienced in my short career in the RAN, they had me doing everything you could imagine till I knew every nook and cranny in the boat (and spud peeler). We had some unusual experiencesie diving without checking wardroom hatch result lots of briny also another when we dived without the engineroom hatched being properly shut more water but the lulu of them all was when we were doing some tricky stuff in Haurake gulf when at 110 feet collided with an object. We knew there was the possibility of another boat from another country in the northern hemisphere being in the area. We finished up on the bottom from where I thought we would have to use the dsea gear to get off the bottom but fortune shined upon us and after severel attempts we were able to surface only to see the old Kaniere bearing down on us at full speed (10kts) so we dived again for safety. On return to Auckland it was revealed that, although we were working in a wiresweeped area, we had hit a pinnacle which all the fishermen knew about. A period in dry dock fixed us up (much damage to casing only)

There are a lot more stories of that trip that I had virtually forgotton about about till i visited the site ... I have some photos from a day we took the press to sea for a day they are still in good condition (black and white ) I guess i could copy them if anybody was interested... gee once I get the old fingers going again it is hard to stop. I will not bore you with anymore I just wanted you to know there are still some of us old blokes around who experienced the honour of serving in boats .. I often wonder if I was one of the first post war RAN submariners. Garry Slattery ex LRO (my son Mick lives at Poet Kennedy and pays off soon )

by Garry Slattery ex LRO (RAN)

THE ROYAL NAVY’S FOURTH SUBMARINE SQUADRON - An open letter by Tom RORKS.

I was a Telegraphist on board the submarine HMS THOROUGH when she sailed from our main submarine base HMS DOLPHIN in 1949.

I spent a very happy five continuous years with the Squadron and was one of the sixty ratings forced to return to England after having completed five years in Australia. On arrival in Fort Blockhouse I was offered and accepted twelve months in Devonport Dockyard, standing by for submarine HMS ANDREW. This boat was undertaking a major re-conversion, replacing the casing and conning tower with light alloy, a huge fin and removing the jumping wire, replacing this with goal post supports for our aerial system. On commissioning the boat late 1955, our torpedo trials and running up were complete in Rothesay, Scotland. We then sailed with a group of six submarines on an exercise, which was designed to test the American defence system. Later we visited the 6th Submarine Squadron in Halifax, Canada, also exercise off Bermuda with Royal Navy and United States Navy ships. When ANDREW returned to England I was discharged from the navy after completing 13 years, nine of them as a submariner.

I returned to Sydney during the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 and was employed by the department of Civic Aviation on arrival; I spent 30 years with the Department. From memory, here is some of the history of the 4th Submarine Squadron as it affected me; some of my dates may be astray.

Squadron Commanding Officer, Commander ‘Topsy’ TURNER DSC.
HMS TELEMACHUS under command of LCDR LASCELLES DSO, sailed from Portsmouth 9 November 1949 arriving in Sydney late December 1949.
HMS THOROUGH, under the command of LCDR John DEVLIN DSC, left on 19 November 1949 and arrived in Sydney on 4 January 1950.
HMS TACTICIAN, under the command of LCDR OGLE DSC, departed from Malta arriving in Sydney early March 1950.
Two boats operated within Australian waters, whilst the third underwent a major refit in Singapore. TELEMACHUS was the first boat to undertake the refit around April 1950.

We were based on HMAS PENGUIN at Balmoral; the jetty was totally inadequate for two submarines to lay alongside with safety. The least swell would bang the submarine saddle tanks against the wooden pilings; consequently, the duty watch would anchor in Balmoral harbour. Eventually, four buoys and a gangplank would be secure to the floating steel pontoons at the seaward end of the wharf.

The local population were always complaining about the noise the engines made at night whilst charging our batteries after a day’s exercise with units of the Royal Australian Navy. Annual DSEA exercises were carried out in the naval pool at the Balmoral base, these were totally inadequate. Food and accommodation at PENGUIN was quite satisfactory. During our days running off Sydney, we would return to harbour and secure about 5pm, those non duty watch ratings who planned to go ashore found the 6 o’clock closing hours of the pubs very antisocial.

Those married to Australian girls found it very hard to manage on Royal Navy pay; this anomaly wasn’t rectified for the first two years, causing a great strain on matrimonial relationship. There were more marriages between Australian girls and members of the 4th Squadron; eventually we were given an overseas allowance, so that we could live within the economics of the Australia Station. At some later date, which I can’t remember, the English wives of the Squadron were able to accompany their spouses when posted to Australia.

In mid 1950, THOROUGH went to New Zealand on a snort cruise, we dived between the Sydney Heads and thirteen days later surfaced in Auckland Harbour. We used our snorkel during daylight hours and cruised at 90 feet below the surface at night. To obtain navigational star sights each evening, the navigator would enter the conning tower, shut the lower lid, and then the captain would partially surface the boat to enable the navigator to open and shut the hatch. The voice pipe from the bridge to the control room would be drained so two-way voice communications could be established. On completion of the star sights the reverse procedure would take place and the navigator would return so that the boat could dive back to 90 feet.

Whilst we were in New Zealand we operated with units of their navy, we also showed the flag in Auckland, Tauronga, Napier, Wellington and New Plymouth. The New Zealand people opened their hearts to us and a good time was had by all. Both THOROUGH and TACTICIAN were in great demand by ships of the RAN, consequently we spent lots of time at sea and Jervis Bay seemed to be a second home.

Eventually TELEMACHUS refit was nearing completion, so in 1951 THOROUGH sailed for Singapore. Before sailing, I was able to get a transfer to TACTICIAN so that I could remain in Australian waters. HMS TELEMACHUS re-commissioned and sailed for Hong Kong and Japan, to operate with units of various fleets in these waters. When TELEMACHUS arrived back in Sydney, both boats were in continual demand. In May 1951, I again transferred to TELEMACHUS after seven months on TACTICIAN. THOROUGH would be due to leave Singapore, so TACTICIAN would have to leave the Australia Station for her major refit about late September 1951. TELEMACHUS was released for a cruise; we operated with the New Zealand Catalina Squadron based in Suva. THOROUGH had completed her refit and returned to Sydney around October via Hong Kong. When she arrived, I once again transferred to her in November 1951. In the early part of 1952, THOROUGH was exercising with some RAN ships whilst they were slowly making their way to Tasmania. During one of these exercises the boat had to dive for a long period, attempts to pass our diving signal to shore proved rather futile, so the operator on the ‘River" class frigate HMAS BARCOO accepted the signal to relay. We dived for about 14 hours; some of the crew were pleased to submerge as the weather at the surface was getting unpleasant. On surfacing, we advised the captain that ‘SUBSMASH’ had been declared because of no contact with the boat. The surface ships were miles away on the horizon, so we made our way towards them. We managed to clear our surfacing signal to HMAS HARMAN W/T, also our signalman made contact by light with the surface units. Ships from both Melbourne and Sydney were steaming in our direction to search for us. It appears the operator on BARCOO had misread our diving signal and relayed incorrect information to shore. Prior to entering Hobart, the captain cleared lower deck to advise the crew not to talk to the press representatives about the incident.

TELEMACHUS was lucky enough to go to Melbourne for the 1952 Melbourne Cup.

Sadly there was a fatal accident with the 4th Squadron, which took place in our PENGUIN accommodation on 2 June 1952. Able Seaman A.J. (Jack) SCHOALLY from THOROUGH fell to his death when he slipped on the worn concrete stairs, toppling over the rail from the third floor to the ground floor. A wire cage was erected around the stairwell after the accident to prevent any further incident of this nature. Jack was survived by a wife and a child in England; he was laid to rest in the Naval Section at Rookwood Cemetery.

In 1953 THOROUGH went to Cairns, then sailed for Suva, Fiji. Halfway to Fiji one of our diesel engines failed, it was found a new liner was required, next day our second diesel gave up the ghost. We had to rig up a sea anchor made of canvas to keep our bow into the wind; our battery power had to be conserved, in case of emergency. We arrived in Suva in one piece and stayed there for ten days so that repairs could be undertaken on both diesels. While we were there a film company hired some of the crew to act as extras in the making of the film, "His Majesty O’Keefe", starring Burt LANCASTER. THROUGH managed another trip to both islands of New Zealand, visiting Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, once again a very enjoyable cruise.

TELEMACHUS replaced TACTICIAN in Singapore in mid 1953, THOROUGH had to go north for her refit. Occasionally, the boats would use Garden Island dockyards for repairs. On one such occasion, one of the boats had trouble with her batteries; these had to be replaced. Also, one of the boats gave a gun action display in Captain Cook dock, the boat dived in the dock and on surfacing gave the public a demonstration of how gun action takes place. It was a Navy Week affair; I was a member of the gun's crew but not sure which boat.

I had to go to Singapore with THOROUGH in 1953, the Captain of the boat was LCDR CLAYDON RN and Lieutenant D. INGRAM was No 1, I cannot remember the other officers. On completing the refit we operated out of Hong Kong with both the RN and RAN units. The aircraft carrier HMAS SYDNEY was there at the time and we exchanged some of the crews for day running. The day I went to sea on SYDNEY one of the pilots walked into a propeller, he died as we were steaming into Hong Kong.

We returned to SYDNEY in 1954, at the same time as the Queen was departing Australia. One of the members of the crew who joined THOROUGH in Singapore was our past National President of the Submarines Association Australia, Peter DAVIS.

In mid 1954, THOROUGH and TELEMACHUS had to go to Manus Island to operate with RN and RAN units of the fleet. The SYDNEY and four Australian destroyers took part, the RN cruiser HMS NEWCASTLE and five "C" class destroyers, also a fleet supply ship participated. At the time I was on S/M 4’s staff, so I travelled to Manus on the "Battle" class destroyer HMAS TOBRUK. I was there to look after the submarine diving and surfacing messages and any other information S/M 4 required. The undercover cinema at Lorigan was used as the naval canteen, hundreds of RN and RAN sailors steamed ashore to wet their whistles. After a few grogs the inevitable blue between the Poms and Aussies occurred. I happen to be sitting outside one of the accommodation dormitories drinking with a few Aussies mates when it took place. Next day there were more shore patrols than liberty men ashore. I returned to Sydney as a passenger on TOBRUK, while the two submarines wended their way back visiting different ports.

As previously stated 60 of us had to return to England, we took passage on the P&O liner IBERIA, quite a memorable voyage.

The three old "T" boats were eventually replaced. I think TABARD was one of the replacements and my old boat ANDREW another. TABARD was a conversion "T" class, with 14-foot extension of the old type "T" pressure hull inserted aft of the engine room bulkhead.