H.M.S. Thetis Sinking – The Memorial in Holyhead

H.M.S. Thetis was a very early submarine in the days when submarines were very much a new concept, and it was being prepared for the war that was expected to follow in the near future. This Group 1 T Class submarine was experimental, and with the loss of 99 sailors and civilians, she sank on 1st June 1939. It was less than one year since her launch at Cammel Lairds shipyard in Liverpool.

HMS Thetis’s hull was clearly visible as it was above the waterline, and it would have been a simple task to drill or burn into the hull to rescue the people inside. In fact, it was recently revealed that the admiralty would not allow this as it would permanently undermine the strength of the sub, and it must have been a conscious decision that that inside would perish.

On the 3rd of September 1939, the day that Great Britain declared war on Germany and her allies, the submarine was towed to and grounded at Traeth Bychan beach. The bodies were then recovered from the submarine and either buried in Maeshyfryd Cemetery in Holyhead or repatriated to their next of kins.

It was subsequently repaired and re-launched as HMS Thunderbolt, only to be torpedoed and sunk on the 14th of March 1943 with all the crew losing their lives.

The majority of those bodies recovered from inside the sub were buried at Maeshyfryd Cemetery, where a memorial service is held every year. The memorial is dated 3rd of June 1939, two days after she sank, I guess that was the last date anyone inside was heard alive.

On the 18th of July 2015 Mr. Mike McQuaid sent me the following email, which may be of interest to researchers:-

Hello, 

I’ve just seen the page dedicated to those lost on Thetis…  coincidentally, today I have been to the old Birkenhead Priory (now mainly ruins) next door to the Cammel Laird yard where the Thetis was built.  

The tower of the church that was once attached to the priory (St Mary’s) has been restored and contains not only a memorial to the Thetis, but has the names and ranks / professions of all those lost (plus some survivors) mounted on individual plaques along the handrail leading up to the top of the tower.

Yours appears to be (as you say) the only complete list of casualties so it might be of interest to anyone researching them to know about the Birkenhead Priory/St Mary’s memorial.

Regards, Mike.

Nowhere on the internet have I found a complete list of the casualties, so I am putting the following table here, which I believe to be a true record of those lost. The only anomaly in my list is that I have two casualties with the surname Smithers, the one in the table with no age does not appear on the memorial. I have nevertheless left it in as I must have had the name from somewhere during my research – maybe the name was omitted from the memorial only for it to be realised later that he was in fact on board? I have arranged the names in alphabetical order for your convenience.