Everything tagged: 4th Submarine Flotilla

Rupert Lonsdale, later Canon Lonsdale, was one of the officers who served on HM Submarine L3 in the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station in 1928-29, having first served on the X1 in 1927. In May 1939 he came back to the China Sea in command of Seal a Grampus class submarine, but returned to the North Sea patrol. Seal was given the task of laying a minefield in Kattegat, but was bombed by a Heinkel. Diving to evade e-boats Seal hit a newly laid minefield and was damaged.

In his early career, Capt. Richard Lindsay Stephen Gaisford, RN, OBE was one of the  officers on HM Submarine L3 serving on the China Station in 1928-29. Photos taken by Capt. WR Fell at the time show him with fellow officers enjoying walking and boating excursions in and around Hong Kong. He married Cecily Margaret de Vitré in 1933. From 1940-1942 he served on HMS Clyde and HMS Vansittart respectively.

George Menzies was an officer in the 4th Submarine Flotilla serving on the China station in 1928-1929 commanding one of the L Class submarines.  He had already served in the 1st World War 1916-1919 and in the 2nd World War commanded the Submarine Depot ship HMS Forth. He married Constance Grice-Hutchinson in April 1936.

Lt Randy Gordon-Duff was an officer on HM Submarine L3 in the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station 1928-1929. The task of the flotilla was to chase down pirates up and down the China coast, mainly around Wei-Hai-Wei, Bia's Bay and Hong Kong. Gordon-Duff was promoted to Lt Cmdr and returned to Hong Kong commanding HMS Proteus in 1939-1940. He died when HMS Culver which he was commanding in 1942 was hit and sunk by two torpedoes off Cape Clear while escorting a convoy. He married Mollie Olga Sinclair in 1937.

My Great Uncle, John Edward Barrow, was an Engine Room Artificer in the Royal Navy.  In 1919 he was assigned to HMS Titania and he sailed from England to Hong Kong.  According to my family members, he spent a lot of time aboard submarines.  After HMS Titania docked in Hong Kong in April 1920, he left the Royal Navy and settled in Hong Kong.