A rare Great War submariner’s D.S.M. group of four awarded to Able Seaman S. Wilson, Royal Navy, who was decorated for gallant deeds in the E. 12 in the Sea of Marmora

Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (J. 1582 S. Wilson, A.B., H.M. Submarine E. 12); 1914-15 Star (J. 1582 S. Wilson, A.B., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (J. 1582 S. Wilson, A.B., R.N.), one or two edge bruises, generally very fine or better (4) £2500-3000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte.

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D.S.M. London Gazette 13 September 1915:

‘For services in submarines in the Sea of Marmora.’

Stanley Wilson was born at Selby, Yorkshire, in November 1891 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in May 1908. Advanced to Able Seaman in April 1911, he transferred to the submarine branch with an appointment in Dolphin in April 1915, following which he was embarked for the Dardanelles in the E. 12 in early June 1915.

First patrol

Command of Lieutenant-Commander K. M. Bruce, E.12 sailed under orders from Imbros on 18 June and, on the following day, rendezvoused with the E. 14 under Commander E. C. Boyle, R.N., V.C., in the Sea of Marmora. But E. 12 had not arrived without difficulty - since the passage of E. 14, which had entered the Sea a few days before, the minefields in the Narrows had been reinforced by steel submarine nets stretched across the Straits. After diving successfully beneath the first minefield, E. 12 became caught in the net and was brought to a stop. Above her, watching the indicator buoys on the nets, waited the enemy patrol craft ready to fire as soon as the submarine broke surface. They had at this stage of the war no alternative method of attack, for the underwater bomb and its depth charge were still to be invented. Bruce first tried to ease E. 12 out of the net by going slowly astern, but it was no use and she remained firmly caught. The only option was to break through the steel strands of the net by force, so Bruce ordered full speed ahead, but as the submarine surged further into the net it brought her to a stop. She then went full astern, until the net stopped her again. Back and forth she went at full power on the engines. One by one the steel strands parted and at last she made a hole large enough to let her through. She reached the Sea of Marmora safely but her engines had been damaged in her struggle with the nets.

Six days later, on 25 June, E. 12 was again in trouble. She had sighted two steamers towing five sailing vessels, and closing on the surface signalled them to stop. One obeyed, the other went on. E. 12 was brought close up alongside the stationary steamship and her two towed dhows. She looked unarmed and her crews had already donned life-belts. Bruce ordered his First Lieutenant to board her and sink her by opening her sea cocks. But just as he, followed by two seamen, scrambled over her side, a Turk on board threw a bomb on to the deck of E. 12. It was a dud and bounced harmlessly off into the sea. But it was the signal for the Turkish crew to open fire with rifles, while a small gun concealed aft was unmasked and opened fire. On board the steamer E. 12’s boarding party had taken cover and were fighting for their lives. Behind them E. 12’s gun had been manned and was pumping shells into the enemy at a range of nine yards. At the same time the two dhows took a hand in the battle and came in on the disengaged side, firing rifles and attempting to foul E. 12’s propellers by towing a rope across them. For a moment it was touch and go. Bruce, ignoring the steamer for a moment, concentrated on the dhows and drove them off. He then finally silenced the steamer, and recovered his three men. Then, withdrawing to a more discreet range, he sank all three enemy vessels by gunfire.

E.12 now set about overtaking the other steamer, which was well away and making for the shore. Opening fire at a range of 2000 yards, E. 12 hit her twice and and started a fire forward. The enemy slipped the three dhows she was towing and beached herself. When E. 12 closed to finish her off, she was herself fired on by troops ashore with a battery of field guns. E. 12 retired and, sinking the three dhows, went in search of quieter waters to carry out repairs to her engines. These had been giving trouble ever since the episode with the submarine net in the Narrows. One of them was completely out of action, the other frequently breaking down. It was more than her crew could manage unaided and, a week after entering the Sea of Marmora, E. 12 made her way home on 27 June for the more complete repairs that only a depot ship could carry out.

Second patrol

In September of that year E. 12 was again ordered into the Sea of Marmora. She had been to Malta for her refit and came back carrying a 4-inch gun, the largest yet fitted to a submarine. She used it to bombard the powder magazine at Mudania and also to silence several gun batteries ashore. It was the first time that these batteries, set up by the enemy at various points along the shore of the Sea of Marmora, had been seriously engaged and they invariably had the worst of the encounter.

E. 12’s main excitement came on her way home. She got through the nets fairly easily but in doing so tore away a large portion which draped itself over her bows and got entangled with her forward hydroplanes. It was immovable and the extra weight of the net took the submarine down at a steep angle. She passed 100 feet and the blowing of the forward ballast tanks failed to check her downward plunge. The hydroplanes were put into hand working, and three men struggled to move them to give her rise helm. E. 12 passed 150 feet, and still she went down, already deeper now than any submarine had ever dived. But the three men on the hydroplanes, using all their strength, began slowly to move them, but not enough yet to check her dive. At 200 feet the immense pressure of the water at that great depth began to take effect. The glass scuttles in the conning tower cracked under the weight of water, and the conning tower was flooded, adding yet more weight to E. 12. But by now the forward hydroplanes were beginning to take effect and E. 12 levelled off at 245 feet. The hull began to leak and it looked as though the end had come. For several minutes she remained at that depth, in danger of being crushed like the shell of an egg.


At last she began to rise, shooting up at an alarming rate. The three men on the forward hydroplanes struggled to give her dive helm, but could not move the hydroplane fast enough. E. 12 came up to 12 feet with her conning tower out of the water before she could be got under control. She was fired at and missed. Down E. 12 went again, once more being forced into a steep dive by the weight of the net. She was steadied at 120 feet, but up she came again as soon as the hydroplanes were set to rise. So she continued, alternately near the surface or in the depths, until she ran into the minefield off Kilid Bahr. Here she got entangled in the mine moorings, and these were to prove her salvation. Putting his helm hard over, Bruce went ahead at full speed. The moorings caught in the portion of net and dragged it clear. With this weight suddenly taken off her bows, E. 12 shot to the surface. She came up just under the guns of the shore batteries and was hit three times, once in the conning tower and twice on the bridge. But the pressure hull was not pierced and E. 12 was still safe. Two torpedoes, fired from tubes mounted ashore, shot past her without hitting but by this time E. 12 was regaining her proper trim and was soon down to 60 feet. At this depth she was safe, and E. 12 kept it until she reached Cape Helles, after which it was plain sailing to the base at Mudros.

Awarded the D.S.M., Wilson remained employed in the Mediterranean theatre of war until early January 1918, where he also served in the E. 25 in the period July to December 1917. Having then returned to the U.K., his subsequent appointments comprised the L. 5 (May 1918-June 1919), the K. 15 (June 1919-January 1920), and the K. 6 (January-September 1920), and he was discharged ashore ‘time expired’ in December 1921.

During the 1939-45 War Wilson served as a Sergeant in the 14th (West Riding) Battalion, Home Guard and passed his proficiency test in the Sten gun in January 1944, aged 53 years; sold with the recipient’s original Certificate of Service and Gunnery and Torpedo History Sheet, together with Home Guard Certificate of Proficiency.