Hugh Haggard
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Hugh Alfred Vernon Haggard, DSO,
DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...
(21 June 1908 – 17 November 1991) 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 who commanded , a T-class submarine, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. ''Truant'' was one of the most successful of Britain's undersea prowlers during that war.


Background

A member of the Haggard family, he was the only son of Admiral Sir Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard and his wife Dorothy Booker Ellis Haggard, having been born on 21 June 1908 in
Stock, Essex Stock is a village and civil parish in south Essex, England. It is about south of Chelmsford, the county town. The village is in the borough of Chelmsford and in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon. History The origins of the village are ...
. His father was Commander-in-Chief of the
America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...
. Hugh Haggard was the nephew of diplomat Sir Godfrey Digby Napier Haggard, who served as
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Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...
at
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
during World War II. He was also the grandnephew of prolific author Sir Henry Rider Haggard, who attained literary fame with his romances ''
King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' is an 1885 popular fiction, popular novel by the English Victorian literature, Victorian adventure writer and fable, fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. Published by Cassell and Company, it tells of an expedition through an ...
'' and '' She: A History of Adventure''.


Naval career

At , Haggard was one of the tallest submarine officers in the Royal Navy. By 15 September 1925, he had become a cadet and was serving in the battleship , of the Atlantic Fleet. He was a midshipman by 15 May 1926, and aboard the battlecruiser by 3 December 1926. By 1 September 1928, Haggard was an acting sub-lieutenant. That year, he attended the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...
. On 1 July 1929, Acting Sub-Lieutenant Haggard was promoted to sub-lieutenant and, in 1931, he served aboard the cruiser . On 2 December 1931, he became a lieutenant, continuing to serve on the ''Cardiff''. By 17 May 1934, he was a lieutenant on the submarine , which had just been launched that year. By 1937, Haggard was serving as lieutenant aboard the submarine of the 4th Submarine Flotilla. Haggard assumed command of the H-class submarine in 1939, which he retained until 1940. In December 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. Haggard assumed command of HMS ''Truant'' in the spring of 1940, succeeding Lieutenant Commander Christopher Haynes Hutchinson. In September 1940, ''Truant'' became one of the first T-class submarines to arrive in 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 ...
. ''Truant'', under the command of Lieutenant Commander Haggard, sank ''Provvidenza'' on 22 September 1940, during the course of her first Mediterranean patrol. In December of that year, an Admiralty
communiqué A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...
indicated that: "His majesty's submarine ''Truant'' (Lieut. Com. H. A. V. Haggard) has been operating with great success against the Italian sea communications off the south of Italy." The vessel had sunk at least one of the enemy supply ships in an escorted convoy off Cape Spartivento on the night of 13–14 December 1940. Two nights later, ''Truant'' successfully torpedoed an Italian tanker, which sank off the
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
n coast. From her arrival in September 1940 to her departure from the Mediterranean in December 1941, at which time the vessel headed for the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
, ''Truant'' completed eleven Mediterranean patrols. During that time, the submarine sank eight merchant vessels and a small destroyer, which totalled 27,553 tons. In addition, ''Truant'' was credited with a naval auxiliary weighing 1,080 tons, which was said to have "died of fright" and run aground (''Truant's'' torpedoes never made contact with the ship.) In May 1941, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham indicated that "the operations of HMS/M ''Truant'' have been a model of daring and enterprise, tempered with just the right degree of caution." Lieutenant Commander Haggard was twice
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
, on 14 January 1941 and 14 October 1941. That same year, on 12 August 1941, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross. On 17 March 1942, he was appointed as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order "for bravery and enterprise while serving in H.M.S. Truant during successful Submarine patrols." In December 1942, ''Truant'', commanded by Haggard and described at that time as "the most successful British submarine," returned to Britain after an 80,000-mile, two and a half-year mission in which the vessel was credited with sinking or damaging at least 20 Axis ships. The vessel flew the
Jolly Roger Jolly Roger was the England, ensign flown by a piracy, pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the latter part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The vast majority of such flags flew the motif of a human skull, or â ...
, with four stars and sixteen white bars, representing vessels successfully attacked with guns and torpedoes, respectively. ''Truant'' had seen action in the Mediterranean Sea,
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
, and
Java Sea The Java Sea (, ) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South Ch ...
. On 31 December 1942, Lieutenant Commander Haggard was promoted to commander. He was in command of the ''Truant'' until 1943, when he transferred to the ''Elfin''. By January 1945, Haggard served on the
submarine depot ship A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food ...
''Medway II''. He was a commanding officer for submarines with another submarine depot ship, , from September 1945. He was executive officer of from 16 March 1947. Commander Haggard retired from the Royal Navy on 19 November 1953 for medical reasons.


Later life

Haggard married Lydia Constance Watson in 1957. In 1973, he served as master of the Clothworkers' Company. He was widowed on 11 March 1984. Retired Commander Hugh Haggard died in November 1991 in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
.


Legacy

On 15 December 1942, Lieutenant Commander Haggard was interviewed by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and in 1985 he was interviewed for the
Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...
s where copies of both interviews are kept but are not (as of April 2013) available online.


References


External links


Photograph of Hugh Alfred Vernon Haggard

Photograph of the crew and Jolly Roger of HMS ''Truant'' in December 1942
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haggard, Hugh 1908 births 1991 deaths Haggard family People from the City of Chelmsford Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders Military personnel from Essex