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On January 2, 1945 (other sources give the date as Jan. 3 or even 4) the submarine HMS Porpoise N-14 sailed from Trincomalee, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to conduct a minelaying operation off Penang Island, Malaya (Malaysia). The boat signaled at the completion of the operation on Jan. 9th giving their position as 05.20N-100.08E, but they were never heard from again. The Japanese claim to have attacked and sunk a submarine in the the Malacca Strait about 105 miles W by N of Penang on Jan. 11th which could have been Porpoise. The aircraft dropped two bombs, one missed, but they claim the second hit the boat as it was diving. A second attack came seven hours later when they sighted a surfaced submarine leaking oil, but apparently not moving. A third attack three hours later brought oil and bubbles to the surface. While it is not known if these attacks were against Porpoise, it is known that Porpoise made no distress signals between the first two attacks. At least no known signals have been found in Admiralty records. Having seven hours (according to the Japanese) between the attacks, unless the aerial was somehow damaged, one would think they would have sent a signal if they could have. It is interesting to note that the position of the attack given by the Japanese (postwar) and the position given by Porpoise after the operation are only about 105 miles apart, the boat could easily made that distance in two days. And while there have been attempts to locate the boat, to date the wreck has not been found. All seventy-four crewmen are still within her hull. A signal sent to the Admiralty on Jan. 19, 1945 stated that the boat was overdue, had failed to answer signals and must be presumed lost. Porpoise was the last Royal Navy submarine lost in combat in the Second World War. One more Royal Navy submarine, an X-Craft (XE-11) would sink during the war, but this was caused by an accident. |
© 2007 Michael W. Pocock MaritimeQuest.com |
Roll of Honour |
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In memory of those who lost their lives in HMS Porpoise N-14 "As long as we embrace them in our memory, their spirit will always be with us" |
Name |
Rank/Rate |
Notes |
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Adams, D.S.C., Albert E. |
Warrant Engineer |
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Ansell, Leonard B. A. |
Able Seaman |
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Bolden, Jack |
Able Seaman |
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Brennan, James |
Petty Officer |
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Brockbank, Arthur P. |
Steward |
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Bullen, Herbert |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Carter, Jack |
Leading Signalman |
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Chitty, Clement A. C. |
Able Seaman |
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Clark, William M. |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
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Clarke, Kenneth E. |
Able Seaman |
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Cooper, Arthur |
Able Seaman |
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Coupe, Trevor |
Leading Seaman |
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Cowton, Alan D. |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
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Crouchman, Victor P. T. |
Able Seaman |
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Draper, Arthur D. |
Stoker Petty Officer |
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Drew, Victor H. F. |
Lieutenant (RNVR) |
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Dyall, Walter F. |
Able Seaman |
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Edwards, Walter G. |
Leading Telegraphist |
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Fraser, James N. McK. |
Electricial Artificer 3rd Class |
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Gascoigne, William |
Able Seaman |
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Gibson, Adam |
Able Seaman |
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Griffiths, Arthur E. |
Able Seaman |
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Healey, Alfred |
Stoker Petty Officer |
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Henderson, Arthur |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
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Henson, Leslie |
Leading Stoker |
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Hiscock, Wilfred J. |
Chief Engine Room Artificer |
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Hood, Alfred G. |
Able Seaman |
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Hughes, Charles W. T. |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Julian, Richard E. B. |
Able Seaman |
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Kennedy, Mungo H. McL. |
Lieutenant |
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Lee, Arthur |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
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Livingstone, Alexander |
Leading Stoker |
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Lucking, Cecil J. |
Leading Stoker |
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Malliband, Guy G. |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Martin, Basil H. |
Petty Officer |
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Nash, John R. |
Able Seaman |
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Oliffe, John |
Able Seaman |
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Oliver, Terance |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Palliaser, Harry |
Leading Stoker |
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Passmore, Jack |
Petty Officer Telegraphist |
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Proudfoot, Abraham P. |
Leading Seaman (RNVR) |
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Ranken, Terence A. |
Leading Telegraphist |
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Richardson, Thomas S. |
Able Seaman |
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Roberts, Douglas D. G. |
Lieutenant |
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Rodgers, Phillip |
Able Seaman |
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Rogers, Richard |
Petty Officer |
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Rowlands, George |
Able Seaman |
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Sant, Albert W. J. |
Leading Stoker |
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Sherriff, John |
Telegraphist |
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Simpkins, George A. |
Petty Officer |
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Skeoch, James McK. |
Able Seaman |
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Smith, Albert G. |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Smith, Frank |
Petty Officer Cook (S) |
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Smith, Jack |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
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Smith, Leslie J. |
Able Seaman |
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Smith, Philip R. |
Stoker 2nd Class |
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Spencer, Edward R. |
Leading Stoker |
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Taylor, Edward O. M. |
Lieutenant (RNVR) |
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Thomas, Ralph |
Leading Seaman |
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Trier, Colin E. |
Sub Lieutenant (RNVR) |
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Turner, DSC, Hugh B. |
Lt. Commander |
Commanding Officer |
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Tyler, Walter J. |
Able Seaman |
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Vaughan, Frederick J. |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
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Webb, John H. T. |
Leading Stoker |
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Webber, Grahame M. |
Telegraphist | ||
Weeden, William H. |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Weston, James |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Whittaker, Robert |
Able Seaman |
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Wilkins, Arthur F. |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Williams, Arthur F. C. |
Petty Officer |
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Williams, Frederick S. |
Able Seaman |
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Wimble, Will |
Stoker 1st Class |
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Woodward, Stanley |
Leading Stoker |
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Wright, James |
Stoker 1st Class |
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In addition to those lost on the final patrol, three other men serving in Porpoise died while in service. |
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Date |
Name |
Rate/Rank |
Cause |
Mar. 30, 1938 |
Richardson, John J. W. |
Stoker 1st Class |
Died of illness |
Apr. 15, 1942 |
Thomas, James |
Lieutenant |
Car accident |
July 9, 1942 |
Kerry, Lewis L. |
Leading Telegraphist |
Unknown |
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1. Jan. 23, 2019 Thank you for hosting the account of the service record and loss of HMS Porpoise. It makes for sober but impressive reading. Phil Rodgers was my mother Sarah Hawkins (née Rodger's) older brother. My mother remembered the months of waiting for news toward the end of the war while his status was missing in action. His mother was Mary Rodgers (née Monaghan) and his father was Dennis Rodgers of Kilcoo, County Down. Phil's father Dennis was an armourer for his local brigade of the Irish Republican Army at some point during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War. He suffered exile for his Republican sympathies, and suffered again when Phil lost his life fighting for Britain, the country he intended to make his home (Phil was engaged to a local girl in Portsmouth, my mother told me). I never met Phil, but proud memories of him were strong in my grandfather's house. When I was a small child, the house was raided by the British Army. (This would have been during an IRA campaign in the mid-1950s, perhaps.) The raid was called off when soldiers came on Phil's medals in the bottom of a trunk they were searching. That kind of thing could have happened in many Northern Irish Catholic homes, where loyalties had shifted in the sons and daughters who had emigrated to England, creating ambivalence and sorrow where before things had seemed relatively straight forward. Mary McNutly |