Dick Raikes
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Lieutenant Commander Richard Prendergast Raikes (21 January 1912 – 24 May 2005) was an officer in the Royal Navy notable for being the commanding officer of the submarine HMS ''Tuna'' that launched the canoes during
Operation Frankton Operation Frankton was a commando raid on ships in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during World War II. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachmen ...
in 1942. His part in the operation was portrayed in the 1955
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
''
The Cockleshell Heroes ''The Cockleshell Heroes'' is a 1955 British Technicolor war film with Trevor Howard, Anthony Newley, Christopher Lee, David Lodge and José Ferrer, who also directed. The film depicts a heavily fictionalised version of Operation Frankton, t ...
'' where he was fictionalised as "Alan Greaves", played by
Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...
.


Early childhood

Raikes was born in London, one of five children of Major Lawrence Taunton Raikes, an Indian Army officer. Until his parents returned from India when he was ten, he was brought up in Wales by his grandparents and three aunts. His aunts had seven brothers who had been awarded eight
DSOs DSOS (Deep Six Operating System) was a real-time operating system (sometimes termed an operating system kernel) developed by Texas Instruments' division Geophysical Services Incorporated (GSI) in the mid-1970s. Background The Geophysical Servi ...
and four MCs in
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
; two had died, one had become a general and another had become an admiral.


Early naval career

Raikes entered Dartmouth aged thirteen in 1925; he became Chief Cadet Captain and was awarded the King's dirk. He served in the battleship HMS ''Warspite'' as a midshipman when she was based in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. Whilst there he used to rise at dawn to exercise Lord Louis Mountbatten's ponies. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 16 January 1933 but in the same year the 'bullshit' of the gunnery course at HMS ''Excellent'' on Whale Island made him determined to only serve in small ships without guns. He attended submarine training at HMS ''Dolphin'' in
Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...
later that year and served in HMS ''L22'', HMS ''Clyde'', HMS ''H32'' and HMS ''Severn'' before the war. He was promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
on 16 March 1935 and was present the same year at the Fleet Review for
King George V's Silver Jubilee George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pate ...
off
Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...
whilst serving in the newly built
River-class submarine The River class, or ''Thames'' class, were a class of submarines built for the Royal Navy. Operating during the Second World War, the three boats of the class comprised , and . All the submarines were named after rivers in the United Kingdom. ...
HMS ''Clyde''. ''Clyde'' sailed to the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and was present in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
during the
Arab general strike A general strike involving many Arabs in Mandatory Palestine, encompassing labor, transportation, and commercial activities, commenced on April 19, 1936, extending until October of the same year. This strike escalated into violence, marking the ...
. During this time Raikes, after a couple of hours shunting practice at Haifa station, was in command of an armoured train, keeping the line to Samakh open despite ambushes and derailments. On one night he joined the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force and rode his horse at full gallop across the country by the light of a burning oil pipeline. He returned to Malta and became first lieutenant of the submarine HMS ''Severn''. Raikes passed his 'Perisher' course in 1940 and in September 1941 took command of HMS ''Seawolf'' which was sent to Polyarnoe in the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
, where he remained for a year. On patrol in March 1942 Raikes sighted the German battleship ''Tirpitz'': he was too far away to attack, but his enemy-locating report enabled the carrier ''
Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspi ...
'' to attack with her Albacore torpedo-bombers. On the same patrol, Raikes heard the propeller noise of a U-boat surfacing and carried out an attack with his stern torpedoes; there was an explosion and black smoke, but no wreckage was found. 'For daring enterprise and devotion to duty in successful patrols in H.M. Submarine Seawolf' Raikes was awarded the DSO.


Operation Frankton

Raikes became commanding officer of HMS ''Tuna'' on 24 August 1942. On 26 November 1942, orders were prepared for Raikes's part in
Operation Frankton Operation Frankton was a commando raid on ships in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during World War II. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachmen ...
. These orders stated that a ''"small party of approximately twelve officers and men will be disembarked from the submarine in the vicinity of the mouth of the
Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; , ; , ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just downstream of the centre of Bordeaux. Coverin ...
. The party will paddle up to the Bassen-Bordeaux area in Cockles Mark II, where they will carry out a limpet attack on the blockade runners in the port"''. His orders continued laconically, ''"The party will escape overland to Spain".'' On 30 November 1942 in
Holy Loch The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...
, ''Tuna'' embarked thirteen
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
from the Boom Patrol Detachment and Raikes received his orders, sailing south on passage to the Bay of Biscay. On the evening of 7 December 1942, Raikes navigated HMS ''Tuna'' his way underwater through a fishing fleet and an RAF minefield before deciding to run a serious risk by moving the canoe launch point two miles south into the mouth of the Gironde. When ''
Tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
'' broke surface in the calm water, Raikes was first on the bridge to check that he had a better view than the enemy. Canoe Cachalot was damaged but the other five canoes were launched successfully. Raikes recorded in his post-operational report, ''"2022 waved 'au revoir' to a magnificent bunch of black faced villains with whom it has been a real pleasure to work, and, withdrew to the south and west".''


Late Second World War

From 1943 to 1945 Raikes was a member of the personal staffs of the C-in-C Coastal Command, Air Marshal Jack Slessor, and Air Marshal Sholto Douglas. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 16 March 1943. He attended the Trend committee which oversaw the U-boat war. He then commanded the captured U-3514 and a group of similar U-boats during Operation Deadlight, the scuttling by the Royal Navy of surrendered boats.


Post-War

Raikes was medically discharged from the Royal Navy in 1946. He initially wanted to go into the hotel trade but eventually took up a job in the publicity department of Marconi, where he worked from 1947 to 1972. From 1972 he resided in the village of North Curry, Somerset.


Personal life

Raikes married Joan Margaret Edgington in 1938. She once took passage in HMS ''Tuna'' from Holy Loch to Arrochar. The couple had three daughters. His wife and one daughter predeceased him. Two of his daughters are still living. Raikes's uncle was Admiral Sir
Robert Raikes Robert Raikes ("the Younger") (14 September 1735 – 5 April 1811) was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman. He was educated at The Crypt School in Gloucester. He was noted for his promotion of Sunday schools. Family Raikes was born ...
. His cousins were Vice Admiral Sir
Iwan Raikes Sir Iwan Geoffrey Raikes (21 April 1921 – 27 December 2011) was a former Royal Navy officer who became Naval Secretary. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Sir Robert Raikes and educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Raikes joined th ...
who became Flag Officer Submarines and
Raymond Raikes Raymond Montgomery Raikes (13 September 1910 – 18th March 1999) was a British theatre producer, director and broadcaster. He was particularly known for his productions of classic dramas for BBC Radio's "World Theatre" and "National Theatre of ...
the producer and director. Philanthropist
Robert Raikes Robert Raikes ("the Younger") (14 September 1735 – 5 April 1811) was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman. He was educated at The Crypt School in Gloucester. He was noted for his promotion of Sunday schools. Family Raikes was born ...
was also a forebear. While some of his family remained in England, many of his offspring now reside in Canada and the United States.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raikes, Dick 1912 births 2005 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders Naval history of World War II Admiralty personnel of World War II Military personnel from London