Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen, (8 October 1891 – 5 November 1940) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen was born into a naval family, one of four children his father being Vice-Admiral F. F. Fegen MVO. He was born at 42 Nightingale Rd, Southsea, Hampshire, on 8 October 1891. At the age of 12, he entered Osborne Royal Naval College and in 1909, he was appointed

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on HMS ''Dreadnought''.

First World War

On 24 March 1918, while the British ship SS ''War Knight'' was proceeding up the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

in convoy, she collided with the United States oil carrier ''O.B. Jennings''. It appears that the

naphtha Naphtha (, recorded as less common or nonstandard in all dictionaries: ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Generally, it is a fraction of crude oil, but it can also be produced from natural-gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and ...

, which was on board the latter vessel, ignited, and the two ships and surrounding water were soon enveloped in flames. The master of ''O.B. Jennings'' gave orders that all the ship's available boats should be lowered, those on the starboard side were burnt, and the crew abandoned the ship in the port boats, whilst the master, chief engineer, chief officer and three others remained on board. HMS Garland, under the command of Lieutenant Fegen, with other destroyers, were proceeding to the spot to render assistance, when it was seen that one boat which had been lowered from ''O.B. Jennings'' had been swamped. ''Garland'' closed with ''O.B. Jennings'', rescued the men from the swamped boat, and then proceeded alongside the ship, which was still blazing, and rescued those who were still on board. She afterwards proceeded to pick up the others who had left the ship in boats, rescuing in all four officers and twenty-two men. Lieutenant Fegen handled his ship in a very able manner under difficult conditions during the rescue of the survivors, while Quartermaster Driscoll worked the helm and saw that all orders to the engine-room were correctly carried out, and his actions during this rescue resulted in both being awarded Silver Sea Gallantry Medals.

Interwar service

A little later in his naval career, Fegen was seconded to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

, and during 1928–29, served as executive officer in the Royal Australian Naval College, which was located on

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...

on the south coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. By coincidence, the vessel on which he later achieved fame (and death) was named after this bay.

Second World War

He was 49 years old, and an acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Royal Navy during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 5 November 1940 in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Captain Fegen, commanding the

armed merchantman An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...

, was escorting 38 ships of Convoy HX 84, when they were attacked by the German

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

(often termed a "pocket battleship"). Captain Fegen immediately engaged the enemy head-on, thus giving the ships of the

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

time to scatter. Out-gunned and on fire ''Jervis Bay'' maintained the unequal fight for 22 minutes, although the captain's right arm was shattered, and even after he died when the bridge was shot from under him. He went down with his ship but 31 ships of the convoy managed to escape – including . He was remembered in

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's broadcast speech on 13 May 1945 "Five years of War", as having defended Ireland's honour: The citation for Fegen's Victoria Cross was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' on 22 November 1940, reading:

In popular culture

Issue #47 of the comic book ''

Hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

'' by

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' ''Punisher'' franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

and John McCrea contains a fictionalized account of Fegen's last battle and the sinking of the ''Jervis Bay''.

References

*Connel, G.G., (1987) ''Mediterranean Maelstrom: H. M. S. "Jervis" and the 14th Flotilla'', William Kimber, London *Edwards, Bernard, (2013) ''Convoy Will Scatter: The Full Story of Jervis Bay and Convoy HX84'', Pen and Sword, *Pollock, George, (1958) ''The Jervis Bay'', William Kimber, London

External links

Commander E.S Fogarty Fegen
in ''The Art of War'' exhibition at the

UK National Archives The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the ...

Captain Fegan and HMS "Jervis Bay"
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* ttp://hmsjervisbay.com HMS Jervis Bay {{DEFAULTSORT:Fegen, Edward Stephen Fogarty 1891 births 1940 deaths People from Southsea British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy officers of World War I Irish World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Sea Gallantry Medal Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II People lost at sea Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross English people of Irish descent Captains who went down with the ship Military personnel from Portsmouth Irish officers in the Royal Navy