Orders, Decorations & Medals - Aust. Groups

Lot 5193    Session 19 (4:30pm Friday)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - Aust. Groups

Estimate $15,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $16,000

TRIO FOR AUSTRALIAN SUBMARINE AE1: 1914-15 Star; British War Medal 1914-18; Victory Medal 1914-19. O.N.8111 J.B.Thomas A.B. on first medal, 8111 J.B.Thomas A.B. R.A.N on last two medals. All medals impressed. Display mounted, extremely fine.

Together with an AE1 sweetheart brooch; modern minature Memorial Plaque WWI named to James Thomas; unused Lettercard featuring Submarine AE1.

James Benjamin Thomas, sailor, born 16May1883 at St Helen's, Worcester, South England; Enl.16May1913 at London in RAN, having previous service in RN; to submarine duty 28Feb1914; graded Cook 01Mar1914; to HMAS Penguin, Sydney 25May1914; missing presumed dead at sea on 14Sep1914 whilst serving on submarine AE1; no known grave; commemorated at Plymouth naval memorial, Devon, England.

Submarine AE1 was the first of two E Class submarines built for the newly formed Royal Australian Navy and was commissioned at Portsmouth, England on 28 February 1914. She sailed from England to Australia with her sister ship AE2 and arrived at Sydney on 24 May 1914. She was crewed with a mixture of Australian RAN sailors and British RN on attachment, all under the command of British officers on loan to the RAN. When WWI broke out AE1 and 2 joined with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force assigned to capture the German Pacific colonies and both took part in the operations that led to the Australian occupation of German New Guinea when the German forces at Rabaul surrendered on 13 September 1914.

The following day the destroyer HMAS Parramatta rendezvoused with AE1 off Herbertshohe at 8.00am and exchanged signals before proceeding to Cape Gazelle. The ships arrived at about 9.00am and again had an exchange of signals with Parramatta advising AE1 that her orders were 'to search to the south'ard with submarine and anchor off Herbertshohe at 5.30pm'.

Parramatta then proceeded independently in a southerly direction while AE1 advanced in a north-easterly direction. The weather was hazy and visibility was observed to be about 9 to 10 nautical miles, at times decreasing to 5 miles. Parramatta reported that AE1 was obscured by the haze for some time, as was the nearest land. Because of these conditions, Parramatta's Captain, Lieutenant W.H.F.Warren, RAN, considered it advisable not to lose sight of the submarine for too long.

At 12.30pm Parramatta turned to the north-west and by 2.30pm she was close to AE1 when the submarine asked by signal: 'What is the distance of visibility?' Parramatta responded: 'About 5 miles'. At 3.20pm Parramatta lost sight of AE1 and despite heading to her last known location no sign of AE1 was found. Parramatta was operating under the assumption that AE1 had returned to Herbertshohe. Parramatta later anchored off Herbertshohe at 7.00pm but by 8.00pm the submarine had not returned and Parramatta and HMAS Yarra were ordered to search for her. HMAS Sydney, also heading to the area was instructed to keep a lookout and later HMA Ships Encounter and Warrego also joined the search together with launches from Rabaul and Herbertshohe. No trace of AE1 was ever found, not even a shimmer of escaping oil on the water which would indicate some mishap.

The loss of AE1 with her entire complement of 3 officers and 32 sailors was the RAN's first major loss of WWI and it marred an otherwise successful operation to seize the German possession in New Guinea and the South Pacific. It is not known what caused AE1 to disappear without trace. The area where she disappeared has many deep water areas and there is much volcanic activity throughout the region which has an affect on instruments used to locate wrecks and there are presumed to be many other wrecks in the region from WWII action. Despite several searches to locate her none have been successful. AE1 was finally recognised for her service with the retrospective award in 2010 of the battle honour 'Rabaul 1914'.

The crew lost on AE1 comprised 3 officers of the Royal Navy, and the ratings included 16 other RN serving with RAN, 1 RN on loan to RAN and 15 RAN, the nationalities being 20 Great Britain, 14 Australian and 1 New Zealand.

There is a stained glass window at the naval chapel at Garden Island commemorating the WWI loss of both AE1 and AE2. There is also a floating structure to AE1 outside the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour, Sydney.

With research.