The A8 Submarine Boat Disaster in Plymouth Sound on Thursday June 8th 1905
Arthur Bunn Crew P.O. age 31 rests at Plymouth`s Ford Park Cemetery (click to enlarge)
The funeral procession leaves Devonport Dockyard and a final salute is given at the gravesides, note the heavy black powder smoke of the early Long Lee Enfield .303 rifles (click to enlarge)
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"Heroes all of Them"
A8 and other A boats alongside at Devonport Dockyard, and A8, pennant no. 19, alongside a depot vessel moored off the "land" and "hulk" submarine warfare training school of HMS Defiance at Wearde Quay on the Lynher river estuary, across the Hamoaze from Plymouth. Whether before or after sinking and subsequent salvage is unknown (click to enlarge)
another Steve Johnson Cyberheritage "content over style" web page
The last parade of the drowned crew of Submarine Boat A8 is eternally at "shun" in the quiet timeless piece broken only by buzzing bees and cawing seagulls in Plymouths monument to her 19th century dead; Ford Park Cemetery, or rather more correctly "Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse Cemetery" Ford Park. In this cornucopia of gothic funerary sculpture young men who never had the chance to grow old lay at rest under the restless advance of encroaching ivy.
Thursday June 8th 1905 was a fateful day for the Royal Navy at Plymouth, and especially so for the fated crew of Submarine A8. Leaving Plymouth for exercises off Looe in tandem with her sister boat the A7. After reaching Plymouth Breakwater, an initial dive ended in the A8 surfacing, the crew of an escorting surface Torpedo boat spotted that the A8 was in trouble. The A8 had developed a list and was sitting lower and lower in the water until she slide below the water bow first, showing her stern to the sky. She vanished and the lives of 14 brave men and one officer were snuffed out, some lucky ones got clear, primarily those on the conning tower. Tons of water came through a faulty hatch seal, filling the boat so it became negatively buoyant and all trim was lost.....the end was inevitable and as she sank, sea water at a higher pressure that the air in the boat would have slammed the hatch shut. The coffins lid had closed. These early boats were petrol fuelled and the account follows that there was shortly afterwards what appeared to be an underwater explosion.
The following Monday 12th. the A8 was raised and transported to Devonport Dockyard where the dead were removed with great dignity and respect. The funeral was on Thursday June 15th.Most of the crew are buried close to each other.
The whole populace of the 3 towns as it was then, Plymouth plus Devonport plus Stonehouse, all turned out to pay their final respect to what had become a local disaster. Streets were thronged with masses as the funeral procession wound it`s way from the Devonport Naval Base to the Cemetery......the flag draped coffins were carried on gun carriages pulled by sailors, anchors made of flowers, sailors marched with rifles, a military band played. The whole of three towns stopped. At the graveside a military funeral with full honours paid respect to those who locals called "Heroes all of Them."
The A8 herself was recommissioned, but being able to only stay at sea for a day...having to turn to her Depot ship at night, and only armed with two torpedoes, her usefulness was limited with the fast advances of this new infant naval technology. Each day she would have one of her two crews on board...alternating. No man having to spend more than one full day aboard.
Launched at Barrow on January 23rd 1905, and for the reasons above having not been much involved in World War I, she was scrapped in 1920 by Phillips of Dartmouth, Devon.
This cross was made from a piece of the metal of the plate removed from the hull of the A8 to remove the dead. The cross is 3 inches high as was made by a Mr. Pinch. Even the never stopping workforce of the Devonport Naval Dockyard were given two hours off to attend a service in aid of the submariners at the Dockyard Chapel, according to Plymouth`s Mrs. Pollard who loaned the photo.
thanks to Gerald Barker of Plymouth for background material
Postscript; the A7, her sister boat was lost on January 16th. 1914 in Whitsand Bay near Plymouth...her crew are still aboard as she rests intact on the sea bottom, seldom visited as a war grave.
A photographic memorial "souvenir" naming the dead and those that survived.
An "In Memoriam" card commemorating the loss of the A8.
Full Honours as the funeral procession passes Stoke Damerel Church, note straw hats, the Corporal in foreground coming to salute, male onlookers bare their heads, and soldiers lining the route have arms reversed.
The funeral procession passes the long gone King`s Road railway station, Devonport...now the site of the College of Further Education.
Close up views of the procession showing uniform, straw hats, and anchors wreaths made of flowers. 1.......2........3........4........5.....
Final Salute The hillside behind has changed as it was used as a tipping site in the early part of the 20th. century to make the council allotments. The shaded area in this photo shows what part of the hill relates to 1905, and the shaded area in this shot shows just how much has been tipped since.
Petty Officer Arthur Bunn Crew rests at the Naval section of "Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse Cemetery" Ford Park, Plymouth.
William George Bruckland 28 lived with his wife Sarah at Paisley House, Paisley Street, Ford, ( or West Devonport as called at the time) Plymouth. Although grand sounding it was just a medium size terraced house, it would have been a modern house at the time. The house and indeed the street still stand, almost unchanged since 1905, except that the gas lights have gone! It would be nice to know which house was "Paisley House"....walking along this street many times, as it is close to my home, I recall seeing that name in gold paint letters on a glass pane above the front door...however now I am looking for it...to my horror most of the houses have had PVC double glazing and new doors fitted...so that trace of history looks to be lost.
Last parade shows 9 of the 15 graves at the "Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse Cemetery" Ford Park, Plymouth. One other, Thomas Cusick, Leading Seaman, of Church Road, Ballycotton, Co.Cork, lies in Roman Catholic ground close by. ( at GEN L6-14) The whereabouts of the others is unknown.
This view shows the graves, looking west, two are hidden from view, the crosses being broken off leaving only a low profile visible. Weather erosion means that the inscriptions can only be read in suitable sun angles.Due to this I may have made an error in reading these, but I believe them to be accurate.I have numbered them.
1) John McKnight, A.B...(Able Bodied) 21yrs.of Green Castle Street, Kilkeel, Co.Down. next kin, uncle Alexander Beck
2) Edmond Green, Stoker 28yrs. of 13, Grafton Street, Clitheroe, Lancaster. next kin, sister Mrs. J. Sparlin.
3) William George Bruckland, Engine Room Artificer 28yrs.of Paisley House, Paisley Street, West Devonport, next kin, wife, Sarah...now of "Thurynellyn" 92, Leslie Terrace, Porth, Glamorgan, Wales.
4) George Beedham, Engine Room Artificer 27yrs.of Winchmore Cottage, Stamford Bridge, York. next kin, sister Bertha.
5) Arthur Bunn Crew, Petty Officer 31yrs.of Kimerton Road, Denmark Hill, London,next kin, ...a brother....
6) James W. Simpson, Leading Seaman 26yrs. of 5, John Street, Plymouth. next kin, ...a wife....
7) William George Ayloft, Petty Officer 23yrs. of 13, Cumberland Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, next kin, wife Margarita.
8) Stephen Birch, A.B...(Able Bodied) 23yrs. of Drill Hall, Hebburn-on-Tyne, next kin, brother Spencer.
9) Arthur Rylands, A.B...(Able Bodied) 26yrs. of 44, Payne Street, New Cross, London, next kin, mother.
THE CREW WHOSE GRAVES ARE NOT KNOWN
F. Vickers Engine Room Artificer
T.G.? Reeves, Stoker
J.Thomas Leading Seaman
J.Kerswell Leading Seaman
E.T.Fletcher, an officer
THOSE WHO WERE SAVED
? WALLER Petty Officer
G.Watt Leading? Stoker
H.C. Murdoch Sub Lieutenant
A.H.C.Candy Lieutenant
Two unknown A boats close by Plymouth 1.......2...
The contemporary photos of the A 8 funeral were believed to be taken by a serving P.O. at HMS Defiance, he being a keen amateur photographer.
click to enlarge
see my web page on the discovery of the wreck of HMS/M Perseus, a Parthian class submarine, lost in World War II, in the Mediterranean
click to enlarge
see my memorial web page to the tragic loss of HMS/M Thetis in Liverpool Bay on trials in 1939 and her Phoenix like rebirth as HMS/M Thunderbolt this is no longer a direct link as the page keeps getting shifted by ISP problems, but the link IS ON THIS BIG LIST as are many other worthwhile sites
HMS/M Thetis sits forlorn on the beach after salvage
The last known photo of HMS/M Thetis before her fateful dive
The stern of the Thetis points at the sky as an attempt is made to gain entry
An escape compartment of the type used in the Thetis
"Heroes all of Them"
Submarine odds and ends photo gallery
Submarine L1 aground....1......2....
HMS/M Tireless in Sydney, Australia and later in Plymouth Sound in 1952 after "streamlining."
An American nuclear sub in Plymouth Sound in 1986.
Some photos from Plymouth Navy Days:
A Royal Navy "O" class diesel submarine alongside the floating dock 1.......2.....mid 1980`s
A Royal Navy "O" class diesel submarine in a large dry dock.
A Royal Navy "O" class diesel submarine alongside the wharf at the end stages of a refit 1......2.....
Royal Navy diesel submarines Orpheus and Sealion at Plymouth Navy Days in mid 1980`s.
HMS/M Andrew in 1970, the last Royal Navy submarine to have a deck mounted gun.
A U.X.B. is removed from under the casing of HMS/M Thrasher in wartime by Lieut. P. Roberts and PO. T. Gould.
Some oldies:
"Wolves beneath the sea", a 1960`s boys annual "technical" illustration.
How many kids these days would be able to, would want to, would even understand....about different types of submarine...yet in the era that these were drawn, the crayon era, such an understanding would have been rather more commonplace....1950`s to 60`s.
look at these child sketches......
a streamlined "A" class or "T" class submarine.
the first American nuclear submarine, the Nautilus...with missile!
a bit of a mystery here!
I came across these illustrations in an old scrapbook; they relate to HMS/M Seal in World War II and an action involving seaplanes.....note strafe holes in Seal`s conning tower. 1......2.......3.....
These are interesting, taken aboard a "streamlined" A class submarine.....lets have a walk through.....
Wardroom, .....Torpedo compartment 1....2..., privacy...joking!.......Hydroplanes,.....Engine Room 1.....2..., depth gauge,......Control Room 1......2......3.....Bunks 1.......2....
and these?
one of the wonders in doing lots of web pages is that I get sent a lot of stuff from folks all around the world.....and then I file them away for future use...and sometimes forget to index them....or even forget about them altogether.......like these two. Obviously wartime...note barrage balloons and the location is Plymouth Sound.
Submarine Pennant No. N 79 HMS/M Torbay
see Steve Johnson`s other heritage web sites, many featuring submarines and strong naval and military content:
