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THE
COLLECTION - STAR OBJECTS
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Victoria
Cross awarded to Commander EC Boyle VC
Commander
Boyle was awarded the Victoria Cross when in command of HMS E14
in 1915. The medal was awarded for conspicuous bravery when he dived
the submarine under enemy mine fields and entered the Sea of Marmora
on 27 April 1915 as part of the Dardenelles campaign. He continued
to sink two Turkish gunboats and one large military transport despite
the surrounding hostilities. Every crewmember was also decorated.
By
1915, at the age of 33 years, Boyle was one of the most experienced
submarine officers in the Royal Navy. He had previously commanded
the Royal Navy's first submarine, Holland 1, in 1903, and was mentioned
in despatches for his patrol of Heligoland Bight in HMS D3 after
the outbreak of the war.
HMS
E14
HMS E14 is the only ship
in the history of the Royal Navy to gain the Victoria Cross on two
separate occasions. The second occasion was under the command of
Lieutenant Commander Godfrey Saxton White, also in the Dardenelles,
in 1918. The submarine, having been damaged, had to risk remaining
surfaced with enemy guns on both sides of the straits. White remained
on the bridge alone and was killed by a shell while endeavouring
to beach E14, and thereby save the lives of his crew. In the event
the submarine and only seven crewmen were rescued by the Turks.
Godfrey Saxton White was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously.
Fourteen Victoria Crosses
have been awarded to the Submarine Service in total.
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