Lieutenant-Commander John Austin Gaimes, DSO, was a submarine commander for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. He died 20 January 1921, at the age of 33, when HMS ''K5'' sank with the loss of all hands during a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay.

History of service

* 1901, posted to the training ship HMS ''Britannia''. * Served as second-in-command of the destroyer HMS ''Syren'' for a year. * Volunteered for British submarine command in 1908, appointed January 1909. * Served on the C-class submarines. * Appointed command of HMS ''A9'' on 5 October 1911. * A year later, appointed command of HMS ''B9''. * March 1913, captained HMS ''C37'' in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. * 10 April 1917, commanded submarine in Harwich flotilla. * Located the secret

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

passage, marked out by buoys for German warships to follow. * June 1918, awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) for war services. * After

World War I 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 fightin ...

, commanded submarines attached to

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and ...

HMS ''Dolphin'' at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. * November 1919, appointed to cruiser HMS ''Inconstant'' for steam-driven vessels of the K-class in the

First Flotilla The First Flotilla was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy commanded by the Flag Officer, First Flotilla from 1971 to 1990. The Western Fleet and Far East Fleet were merged into the single Commander-in-Chief Fleet in 1971. Within this ne ...

. * 1 April 1920, appointed command of HMS ''K5''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaimes, John 1887 births 1921 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Stubbington House School People educated at The Skinners' School People lost at sea Royal Navy submarine commanders Royal Navy officers of World War I