H Royal Australian Navy. AE2 E Class submarine LEARNING RESOURCE

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1 H18370 Royal Australian Navy AE2 E Class submarine LEARNING RESOURCE

2 In this learning package there are activities for young learners (Foundation to Year 2), upper primary students (Years 5 and 6) and secondary students (Year 9). These activities have been designed for use in conjunction with the Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience. The resources in this package can be used as pre- or post-visit activities, or as a stand-alone study of modern Australian history. They provide students with the opportunity to explore personal stories and analyse primary and secondary sources relating to Australia s involvement in the First World War. The background information cited in this resource has been taken from the Spirit of Anzac Centenary experience text and audioguide. Royal AustrAlian navy ae2 e class submarine learning resrouce - 2

3 AE2 E Class submarine 1:72 scale model of HMAS AE2. (AWM REL37382) Charles Bryant, AE2 in the Sea of Marmora, April 1915 (1925, oil on canvas, x 183 cm, ) (AWM ART09016) The AE2 was one of two submarines built in Britain in for the Royal Australian Navy. In February 1915 it joined a Royal Navy squadron based on the island of Tenedos in the Aegean Sea. From there it operated in support of the unfolding Dardanelles campaign. Just before the Gallipoli landings the AE2 was ordered to sail through the Straits of the Dardanelles and disrupt Turkish shipping in the Sea of Marmara. In the early hours of 25 April 1915, the AE2 made it past minefields and land-based guns, and after torpedoing a Turkish destroyer entered the Sea of Marmara. Read more about HMAS AE2 ( and think about the following questions. QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES 1. What are the Straits of the Dardanelles? See if you can find out why they are so important. 2. Why was it important for the AE2 to disrupt Turkish shipping in the Dardanelles? What might the Turkish ships have been transporting? 3. What other actions in this area were Australians involved in on 25 April 1915? 4. News of the success of the AE2 was sent to the commanders of the Gallipoli operation. How might this news have influenced their decision-making? 5. The AE2 entered the Dardanelles at 2.30 am. What might have been the advantages and disadvantages associated with mounting an operation like this at such an hour? Royal AustrAlian navy ae2 e class submarine learning resrouce - 3

4 CASE STUDY Henry SToker Captain Stoker (standing, at far left) with some of his crew on the deck of the submarine. (AWM H18370) Henry Hugh Gordon Dacre Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 2 February At the age of 12, he joined the navy. Three years later he was accepted as a naval recruit and undertook training aboard the Britannia. He went on to study at the Naval College in Greenwich, England, and as a young lieutenant took command of the AE2, one of the RAN s new submarines. In 1914 he successfully sailed the submarine to Australia. The AE2 and its sister submarine, the AE1, were the first submarines to have travelled such a distance. With the outbreak of war in 1914, the AE2 took part in a mission to German New Guinea before sailing to the Mediterranean, where it patrolled the entrance to the Dardanelles. Attempts by British and French battleships and submarines to get through the Dardanelles had been unsuccessful, with the loss of many hundreds of men. Yet Lieutenant Commander Stoker was convinced he could succeed. At 2.30 am on 25 April 1915, just before the dawn landings on the Gallipoli peninsula, Stoker and the AE2 set out through the Dardanelles. With just a compass, watch and limited use of his periscope, Stoker had to navigate through the Turkish minefields. Despite running aground and narrowly escaping further enemy attacks, his crew slowly guided the submarine further into the Dardanelles. Discovering they were very close to the Sea of Marmara, Stoker sent a message back to the fleet. News of their success reached the commanders of the Gallipoli operation. For several days the AE2 harassed any enemy ships it could find, but by then its supply of torpedoes was running low. Early on the morning of 30 April, the AE2 dived to avoid being seen by a Turkish torpedo boat but suddenly something went wrong. The submarine lurched out of control, rising rapidly, breaking the surface then plunging deep beneath the water again. AE2 was hit by shells from an enemy gunboat, and Stoker quickly realised it was doomed. He ordered the crew to abandon ship, and he himself left only when the last man had escaped. The men were rescued from the water by the Turkish crew of the Sultan Hissar, and spent the next three and a half years as prisoners of war, being forced to build a railway through rugged mountainous country. They suffered from overwork, disease, and the brutality of guards. Four of the sailors died. Stoker survived captivity and returned to Britain in 1918, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions. He was promoted to commander in 1919, but retired the following year. He married a young actress, Dorothie Peg Pidcock, in When the Second World War broke out, Stoker returned to duty at the age of 54. After the war he performed in the theatre and became an Irish croquet champion. He died in 1966, aged 81. Royal AustrAlian navy ae2 e class submarine learning resrouce - 4

5 QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES Stoker always remembered the actions of the AE2, and paid tribute to his crew in his memoirs, published under the title Straws in the wind in 1915: No captain has ever been more proud of the men under his command than I was whilst commanding, in my good fortune, that Australian submarine Good comrades, loyal servants, and brave men; the straws in the wind led them to captivity. AWM 3DRL/ In the above quote, Stoker described his men as loyal and brave comrades. Give examples of how the crew of the AE2 demonstrated these qualities. 2. What other qualities could describe the crew of the AE2? 3. Stoker was awarded the DSO for his actions. What is this military decoration awarded for? 4. In all, 620 Australians were recognised with DSOs in the First World War. One man, Lieutenant Colonel Norman Marshall, was awarded the DSO and two bars. (You get a bar when receive the same award again.) Research the story of Norman Marshall. During the First World War, over 4,000 Australians became prisoners throughout Europe and the Middle East. The 32 crew members of the AE2 became prisoners of the Ottoman Turks. Of the 217 Australians captured by the Turks, 62 men more than one in four died in captivity. The last of the AE2 men, Stoker Charles Suckling, who died in 1983, recalled: I don t think, if we had known what was ahead of us, that one of us would have left the boat. 1 Graves of allied prisoners of war at Belmedic, Turkey. The grave on the left is that of Petty Officer Charles Varcoe of the AE2. (AWM P ) 1 Stolen years: Australian prisoners of war, Australian War Memorial website Royal AustrAlian navy ae2 e class submarine learning resrouce - 5

6 QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES 1. What factors contributed to the deaths of Australian prisoners of war in the Middle East? 2. What could the prisoners do to lift their morale while held captive? 3. Research the role of the Red Cross prisoner-of-war office in London during the First World War. How could this organisation assist prisoners? In the Second World War, Stoker was recalled to duty, commanded a naval base, worked in public relations, and was involved in the planning for D-Day. 1. How do you think Stoker felt about returning to war? 2. Stoker was 54 when he was recalled to duty. Use the following website to investigate enlistment standards and how they have changed over time: extension ACTIVITIES 1. Investigate how submarines submerge and surface. Using this knowledge, discuss it may have been that the crew lost control of AE2, allowing it to come to the surface twice. 2. Explore online resources to demonstrate how to construct your own submarine using materials such as a plastic bottle, a drinking straw, weights (such as coins or rocks), plasticine, and tape. How will you make the submarine submerge or surface? Royal AustrAlian navy ae2 e class submarine learning resrouce - 6

7 REferences Fred Brenchley and Elizabeth Brenchley, Stoker s submarine, Harper Collins, Sydney, 2000 Henry Stoker, Straws in the wind, Herbert Jenkins Ltd, London, 1925 Stolen years: Australian prisoners of war, Australian War Memorial website: Royal AustrAlian navy ae2 e class submarine learning resrouce - 7

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