Ernest Martin Jehan DSC (2 February 1878 – 7 December 1929) was a British officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Jehan is best known for the sinking of a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

by him and his crew aboard the smack ''Inverlyon''. He began the war as a

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...

and was decorated and commissioned after sinking .

Early life and career

Born in

Forest, Guernsey The Forest (Guernésiais: La Fouarêt, French: La Forêt) is a parish in Guernsey. It is the highest parish on the island, with altitudes of up to about 100 m. The full title of the parish is ''Ste Marguerite de la Foret'', after the parish chur ...

, on 2 February 1878, Ernest Martin Jehan had worked as a

plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been ...

before joining the Royal Navy on 8 February 1894, when he reached the age of eighteen; he signed up for 12 years service initially. At the age of 18, he was described as being with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a "dark" complexion. Jehan's first posting on 4 February 1894 was to the

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...

HMS ''Impregnable'', then based on the former HMS ''Howe'', where he was rated

boy seaman A boy seaman (plural boy seamen) is a boy (male minor) who serves as seaman or is trained for such service. Royal Navy In the British naval forces, where there was a need to recruit enough hands to man the vast fleet of the British Empire, ext ...

. He was then moved to HMS ''Boscawen'' (on the former HMS ''Trafalgar'') on 22 February 1895, then HMS ''Victory I'' on 10 July 1895 and HMS ''Australia'' on 12 September 1895, where on turning eighteen he was rated

ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount ...

. He briefly returned to ''Victory I'' from 6 February before being posted to HMS ''Fox'' on 14 April 1896. He was rated

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

on 11 June 1896, when he also began specialist gunnery training. Jehan was posted to HMS ''Duke of Wellington I'' on 8 July 1899, and was rated

leading seaman Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of co ...

on 28 October 1899. He then transferred to the naval gunnery school HMS ''Excellent'' on Whale Island on 5 December 1899, and then briefly to the

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

school HMS ''Vernon'' in September 1900, before returning to ''Excellent'' on 25 November. He was posted to HMS ''Duke of Wellington'' on 2 December HMS ''Raven'' on 9 December and back to ''Duke of Wellington I'' on 26 March 1901. He joined HMS ''Eclipse'' on 30 May 1901 and was rated

petty officer 2nd class Petty may refer to: People * Bruce Petty (born 1929), Australian political satirist and cartoonist * Bryce Petty (born 1991), American football player * Dini Petty (born 1945), Canadian television and radio host * Eric D. Petty (born 1954), Am ...

on 14 October. He returned ''Excellent'' 8 April 1903, and was rated

petty officer 1st class Petty officer first class (PO1) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations. Canada Petty officer, 1st class, PO1, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of petty officer 2nd-cla ...

on 17 June 1904. He briefly went back to ''Vernon'' on 28 June before returning to ''Excellent'' on 10 November. He was posted to HMS ''Sappho'' on 1 December 1904. Jehan was then promoted to acting gunner (a warrant rank) on 11 April 1905. He served as an interpreter during a visit to Portsmouth by the French fleet in August 1905 but failed a preliminary French exam in October that year. His rank was confirmed on 2 April 1906. He was largely employed on training duties in various establishments around

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

until on 11 July 1910, he was appointed to the crew that took the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

to Canada, one of two warships purchased by Canada from the British Admiralty. There he remained aboard the Canadian cruiser at

Esquimalt, British Columbia The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by E ...

, until ordered back to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1913, arriving back on 19 November. On 4 April 1914, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War, Jehan was posted to HMS ''Dryad'', a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

converted into a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. From ''Dryad'' he was sent to ''Inverlyon'' as the commanding officer.

Action of 15 August 1915

The action of 15 August 1915 was a small naval battle involving Ernest Jehan. In 1915, the German Empire had begun its first

campaign of the First World War. U-boats operated all around the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

, attacking allied warships and merchant vessels. The

allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

therefore began conducting counter-submarine activities. One of the first countermeasures to be taken was the deployment of

Q-ships Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...

, merchant ships armed with hidden heavy weapons to lure out and destroy German submarines. ''Inverlyon'', a fishing smack, was one of these vessels. Fitted with a 3-pounder and commanded by Jehan, ''Inverlyon'' sailed for enemy-infested waters. While sailing off the coast of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of ...

on 14 August 1915, Gunner Jehan received news that a merchant ship, the ''Bona Fide'', of 59 tons, had been stopped by the German submarine and subsequently

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

with

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

s by a

boarding party ''Boarding Party'' is a solitaire science fiction board game published by Task Force Games in 1982 that simulates a boarding party of humans trying to deactivate a killer spaceship. Description ''Boarding Party'' is a solitaire microgame in whic ...

. By the next day Ernest had rushed to the ''Bona Fides last known position, at about 20:20 hours, The German sub surfaced near the ''Inverlyon''. Then from the submarine's conning tower came the shouts from a German sailor ordering ''Inverlyon''s crew to prepare for boarding. Naturally the Q-ship disregarded the German officer's order. Jehan waited until the submarine came to 30 yards (27m) away, when he gave the command to raise the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on ...

and open fire. A series of three rounds from the sailing ship's gun struck the U-boat's conning tower and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, disabling the German commander. ''UB-4'' then drifted behind ''Inverlyon'', where her gun crew fired another six shots into ''UB-4''s hull while others raked the sub with

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

fire. The U-boat then began to take on water from the bow area; the submarine was almost vertical before slipping beneath the waves and getting caught on ''Inverlyon''s fishing net. Because the submarine was caught on ''Inverlyon''s net, Jehan sent a message home asking if the submarine should be raised and salvaged. The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

replied with a negative response, so the net was simply cut, allowing ''UB-4'' to finish sinking to the bottom. All of the crew and commanding officer, Lt. Karl Gross, were killed. As result of the battle, Ernest Martin Jehan was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 19 November 1915, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

After ''Inverlyon''s cruise

By 1916, Jehan was relieved of the ''Inverlyon'' and sent to HMS ''Sarpedon'' as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, ...

. Later he commanded HMS ''PC-55'' from 1919 to 1920 and retired on 29 October 1920. Jehan died on 7 December 1929 aged fifty-one.

Notes

Due to ''Inverlyon''s sinking of ''UB-4'', Jehan became the first and only commander to sink a modern steel submarine with a sailing vessel.

Daniel Herbert Jehan Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew language, Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel (given ...

, who was possibly Ernest's twin brother, was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in the war. Ernest's son, Ernest Frederick Jehan, went on to fight in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

References

Bibliography