Location
In the clock tower of Birkenhead Priory, St Mary's Gate, Birkenhead, Cheshire.
(In Merseyside since the 1974
Description
Metal plaques, one for each of those lost in the Thetis disaster.
The plaques are on the wall of the stairway leading to the top of the tower,
approximately one plaque for each step.
The clock tower overlooks Cammell Laird shipyard where the submarine was built,
and the workplace of many of those who lost their lives.
Inscription
|
This plaque is erected in memory of the men who tragically lost their lives in the submarine H.M.S Thetis whilst on sea trials in Liverpool Bay on the 1st June 1939 The vessel failed to surface |
| T ANKERS, Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. J I ARMSTRONG, Assistant Electrical Manager, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. W H ASLETT, Admiralty Overseer F BAILEY, Admiralty Overseer T BAMBRICK, Stoker, HMS Thetis W G BATH, Caterer F B BATTEN, Leading Signalman, HMS Thetis W B BEATTY, Caulker, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. G H BOLUS, Lieutenant-Commander, HMS Thetis F R BRESNEN, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. S BROAD, Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. R S BROOKE, Leading Stoker, HMS Thetis W BROWN, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. A W BYRNE, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Thetis H CHAPMAN, Lieutenant, HMS Thetis A G CHINN, Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. G P CORNISH, Chief Petty Officer, HMS Thetis J COSTLEY, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis H T CRAGG, Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. J CRAIG, Stoker, HMS Thetis A CRAVEN, Ship Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J C CREASY, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Thetis S CROMBLEHOLME, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis R W CROUT, Shipyard Manager, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. D CUNNINGHAM, Leading Stoker, HMS Thetis H J DILLON-SHALLARD, Chief Stoker, HMS Thetis G H DOBELLS, Caterer D N DUNCAN, Brown Bros. & Co. Ltd. A H DUNN, Stoker, HMS Thetis H ECCLESTON, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J S FEENEY, Leading Stoker, HMS Thetis H W E FRENCH, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Thetis R N GARNETT, Lieutenant Commander E GISBORNE, Admiralty Overseer R D GLENN, Commissioning Engineer, HMS Thetis T T GOAD, Petty Officer, HMS Thetis C T W GRAHAM, Telegraphist, HMS Thetis L E GREEN, Stoker, HMS Thetis J GRIFFITHS, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. W L HAMBROOK, Leading Seaman, HMS Thetis C J S HAMILTON, Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. G A HARWOOD, Leading Telegraphist, HMS Thetis R G B HAYTER, Commander, Admiralty Overseer C M H HENDERSON, Lieutenant A A F HILL, Admiralty Overseer A G HILLS, Stoker, HMS Thetis W T HOLE, Stoker, HMS Thetis R HOMER, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J A HOPE, Petty Officer Telegraphist, HMS Thetis C W HORNE, Admiralty Overseer H HORSMAN, Admiralty Overseer H G HOWELLS, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Thetis J C HUGHES, Petty Officer Cook, HMS Thetis L W HUNN, Admiralty Overseer P F JACKSON, Chief Engine Room Artificer, HMS Thetis S JACKSON, Captain (Engineer) A G J JAMISON, Lieutenant E A KENDRICK, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis T W KENNEY, Leading Stoker, HMS Thetis R KIPLING, Foreman Caulker, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. E H LEWIS, Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. T C C LLOYD, Lieutenant Commander N LONGSTAFF, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis W A LUCK, Leading Seaman, HMS Thetis W A MATHEWS, Stoker, HMS Thetis E MITCHELL, Petty Officer, HMS Thetis J A MORGAN, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis T W MORTIMER, Telegraphist, HMS Thetis W C ORMES, Chief Engine Room Artificer, HMS Thetis W ORROCK, Stoker, HMS Thetis W OWEN, Foreman Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J A PAGE, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. L G PENNINGTON, Commander, Admiralty Overseer W A W POLAND, Lieutenant, HMS Thetis P L QUINN, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J A READ, Leading Seaman, HMS Thetis A B ROBINSON, Foreman Engineer, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. F ROGERS, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis R ROGERSON, Assistant Engineer Manager, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. P E J RYAN, Lieutenant G L SCARTH, Ship Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. A H SMITH, Leading Seaman, HMS Thetis C SMITH, Engine Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. W H SMITH, Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. C E SMITHERS, Petty Officer, HMS Thetis S W G STEVENS, Leading Seaman, HMS Thetis F N STOCK, Leading Steward, HMS Thetis G A SUMMERS, Electrician, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J H TURNER, Leading Seaman, HMS Thetis D V TYLER, Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. A S WATKINSON, Assistant Engineer Manager, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. W WATTERSON, Ship Fitter, Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. J W WELLS, Chief Petty Officer Telegraphist, HMS Thetis N D WILCOX, Mersey Pilot T WILSON, Able Seaman, HMS Thetis A E YATES, Stoker, HMS Thetis E J YOULES, Leading Stoker, HMS Thetis J YOUNG, Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. "The Hundredth Man" The 4 survivors were:- |
Notes
The accident occurred two months before the start of the second world war.
HMS Thetis, a new submarine,
got into difficulty when undergoing sea trials. Water entered the forward compartment
as a result of an apparently minor technical problem (a small tube blocked by paint).
Conditions inside a submarine are normally cramped, but in addition to its crew, this submarine was packed with shipyard workers putting the finishing touches to the boat, and admiralty officials observing the sea trials.
Observers on land could see the stern of the submarine sticking out of the water, but rescue efforts achieved little.
The submarine itself was hardly damaged. It was salvaged, renamed, and served in the second world war as HMS Thunderbolt.
In Greek mythology Thetis was the mother of Achilles. Thetis dipped Achilles into the river Styx to make him invulnerable, except in the heel by which she had held him.