Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

John Wallace Linton, (15 October 1905 – 23 March 1943) 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 ...

submariner and a Welsh 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. Nicknamed "Tubby", he was a Rugby football forward, playing for the Royal Navy, United Services, and Hampshire County teams.

Naval career

Acting Sub-Lieutenant Linton was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 July 1926 and then

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 15 July 1928, with his seniority in rank subsequently adjusted. Found suitable for further promotion, he was promoted lieutenant commander on 1 July 1936. In 1940 Linton was commander of the

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

Pandora operating in the Far East and in May 1940 brought her to Alexandria and on to Malta, where she was destroyed in the bombing attacks by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

on 1 April 1942.

Victoria Cross

Linton was 37 years old, and a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the

Royal Navy during the Second World War The Royal Navy was an important component of the Allied forces during the Second World War and made a significant contribution to the victory over the Axis powers. Its main tasks included the protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic against ...

, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

. From the outbreak of the war in September 1939 to March 1943, which was the month of HMS ''Turbulent''s last patrol 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 ...

, Commander Linton was responsible for sinking over 90,000 tons of enemy shipping, including a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

, a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

, a

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

and 28 other ships. In addition ''Turbulent'' destroyed three trains by gun fire. In his last year Commander Linton spent 254 days at sea, submerged for nearly half the time, his ship was hunted 13 times and had 250

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

s aimed at her. ''Turbulent'' had sunk a huge amount of enemy shipping and endured numerous attacks. The Royal Navy states that: In recognition of this achievement, and the gallantry of ''Turbulent's'' crew, Linton was posthumously awarded the

on 25 May 1943. The citation read: Linton was reportedly

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

La Maddalena La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', ) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most be ...

Harbour, Italy, on 23 March 1943. This has not been proven and the wreck of the submarine has never been found. Until it is, the cause and location of his death can only be surmised.

Honours and awards

On 6 May 1941 Lieutenant-Commander John Wallace Linton of HMS ''Pandora'' was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

: On 15 September 1942 Commander John Wallace Linton, DSC, was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

: On 25 May 1943 Commander John Wallace Linton, DSO, DSC, was posthumously awarded the

for valour in command of HM Submarines: The convoy attack specified in the citation occurred off Libya on 28/29 May 1942.

Legacy

Linton's body was not recovered and his name appears on the

Portsmouth Naval Memorial The Portsmouth Naval Memorial, sometimes known as Southsea Naval Memorial, is a war memorial in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on Southsea Common beside Clarence Esplanade, between Clarence Pier and Southsea Castle. The memorial commemorat ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. Panel 72. Column 3. His Victoria Cross is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at 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 ...

, London. A

JD Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

has been renamed in his honour in his hometown of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

.The John Wallace Linton public house, Newport, at jdwetherspoon.co.uk
/ref> Linton was not the only member of his family to be lost aboard a Royal Navy submarine. His eldest son, Sub-Lieutenant William F. Linton, was among the 75 men who perished when the A-class submarine was lost in a training exercise on 16 April 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linton, John Wallace 1905 births 1943 deaths People from Newport, Wales Royal Navy submarine commanders Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Welsh recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Newport, Wales

Naval career

Victoria Cross

Honours and awards

Legacy

See also

References