Western Front Association Seminar March 7-9

The annual WFA seminar and AGM is scheduled for Victoria on March 7-9 2014 at the Bay Street Armoury. For the program, click here. There are a couple of naval topics to be covered this year: one on WWI naval aviation, and one (presented by myself) on British submarine operations in the Great War.
My research is going well, and I am sure the program will live up to previous excellent events.

Submarines From Early Days to Modern (2)

In World War I, British submariners referred to themselves as being in "the Trade". I recently read an explanation: Hidebound, spic and span surface navy officers thought their brethren in the submarine business sloppy and scruffily dressed. In fact, indistinguishable from plumber's apprentices in appearance. Hence "the trade".

I doubt if Max Horton, one of the earliest and most successful WW I submarine commanders, would have liked the comparison. Here he is in later life as Sir Max Horton, Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches, the man most responsible for Atlantic convoys and the eventual triumph over the U-boats in WW II.

Submarines From Early Days to Modern (1)

Submariners have always been risktakers, from those who manned the H L Hunley during the American Civil War all the way through to today’s sailors in HMCS Victoria. The risks are always there, given the inherent danger posed by the underwater environment and the complicated machinery in which submariners operate.

The Hunley was built by the Confederacy in a futile effort to break the Union blockade of Charleston. She was propelled by eight men with a hand crank, and her “torpedo” was an explosive device on the end of a long pole attached to her bow. Her first crew drowned while training. Her second crew drowned while training. Her third crew was successful, if just as unfortunate. They drowned, but succeeded in sinking their target, the sloop USS Housatonic.

From the time of the Hunley to today’s Victoria, submariners are a breed apart, as they accept the inherent risks in their profession while serving their nations’ interests.