The Scottish War Memorials Project

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

Sandbank & Ardnadam
UKNIM Ref no. 8537

Sandbank War Memorial standing at Hunter's Quay overlooking the Holy Loch. The memorial is based on the Brechin round tower. There are only two round towers in Scotland, at Brechin and Abernethy, being more commonly found in Ireland where they were built by monks in response to increasing Viking raids. The Sandbank memorial was built by a local Dunoon contractor who must have felt that these ancient celtic bastions built in defence of civilisation offered an appropriate way to commemorate the Scots of a later generation.

The Brechin Round Tower:

Submarines have operated from the Holy Loch for many years and several are listed on the memorial. I thought I'd also post the names of these submarines individually with what little information I have on them. That way anyone with further information can post it.
The inscription commemorates the submarines 'who sailed from the Holy Loch and failed to return'. I also believe that three other submarines, H.M.S. Forth, H.M.S. Titania, and H.M.S. Alrhoda, were stationed in the Holy Loch through much of WWII. One of the submarines famously accidentally torpedoed Sandbank village when a loaded tube was cleared in error during maintenance. The torpedo miraculously failed to hit any of the many boats anchored in the Loch at the time and the incident was covered in an article in The Scots Magazine in May 1981.
The inscription reads:
To the Glory of God and the
honoured memory of the
124 officers and non commissioned
officers and men of Sandbank and
Ardnadam who served in the
Great War 1914 - 1919
'Cha Till Iad Tuille'

A second tablet reads:
In honoured memory also of
the crews of H.M. Submarines
Snapper, Syrtis, Unbeaten,
Unique, Untamed, Vandal,
who sailed from the Holy Loch
and failed to return.
THEY SAVED OTHERS
THEMESELVES THEY COULD NOT SAVE

WWI ROLL OF HONOUR:
BROWN JAMES ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS PRIVATE 2ND. A&S.H.
CAMERON JOHN ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS PRIVATE 1/8TH ARGYLLS
CAMPBELL JOHN ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS PRIVATE
CLARK PETER NEW ZEALANDERS RIFLEMAN 1ST BATTALION NEW ZEALAND RIFLE BRIGADE
CURRIE JOHN ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS PRIVATE 14TH A&S.H.
CURRIE PETER WELSH REGIMENT PRIVATE 13TH WELSH REGIMENT
GILMOUR WILLIAM CANADIANS SAPPER CANADIAN ENGINEERS
GRANT JOHN ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS SERGEANT 1/8TH ARGYLLS
KERR COLIN ROYAL NAVY PETTY OFFICER HIS MAJESTY'S YACHT NAIRN
KIRKALDIE WILLIAM CANADIANS PETTY OFFICER 1ST BATTALION CANADIAN FORCE
MACDONALD ALLAN ROYAL ENGINEERS SERGEANT
MCKILLOP PETER CANADIANS PRIVATE 46TH BATTALION CANADIAN INFANTRY
PENDER GEILS HAMISH G. GORDON HIGHLANDERS LIEUTENANT
PONTON THOMAS ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS PRIVATE 12TH BATTALLION A&S.H.
RODGER JOHN ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS PRIVATE 8TH A&S.H.
STEPHEN JAMES H.F. HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY LIEUTENANT 3RD BATTALION H.L.I.
THOMSON ARCHIBALD BLACK WATCH PRIVATE
TIMPSON HAROLD R. LONDON REGIMENT LANCE CORPORAL 1/26TH LONDON REGIMENT
WATSON HOUSTON MACHINE GUN CORPS PRIVATE 51ST (H) BATTALION M.G.C.

DerekR · Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 6:13 pm Post subject:

Jamie,
Nice to see you on the Forum.

That looks like a cracking memorial.
_________________
There must be a place under the sun where hearts of olden glory grow young .....

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

H.M.S. Snapper was heavily involved in the fighting during the German invasion of Norway in 1940. In April she was patrolling of The Naze, the southern most tip of Norway to harass German supply convoys during the invasion. A small tanker carrying aviation fuel was sighted and the Captain, Bill King, surfaced and sank the ship by gunfire. Snapper also virtually destroyed two small vessels off the Skaw. Later in the campaign she achieved further success in sinking the Cygnus of about 1,400 tons. Such actions were an invaluable support to the Allied troops in Norway.
Bill King became a famous lone yachtsman after the war.

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

H.M.S. Syrtis - In September 1943 H.M.S. Syrtis was involved in 'Operation Source', a plan to attack the Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Lutzow which were anchored in Norway using miniature sumarines, the famous 'X Craft'. Syrtis was given orders to tow X9 and X10 for the attack on Tirpitz. On 16th September X9 was lost during the tow across the North Sea. On September 20th X10 was released and set off on its mission. Tirpitz was located at anchor in its fjord (Scharnhorst and Lutzow had left) and the battleship was severely damaged by charges dropped below its keel by the small submarines.
In the following year, March 1944, Syrtis sank a small ship by gunfire off Bodo. Later in the same month Syrtis failed to return to Lerwick and is presumed to have been mined.

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

H.M.S. Unbeaten - In 1940 Unbeaten, under the command of Teddy Woodward, formed part of the 'Iron RIng', a blockade laid by R.N. submarines around Brest to await the return of Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Hipper and Scheer following their forrays into the Atlantic.
In 1941 H.M.S. Unbeaten was heavily involved in the defence of Malta and North African Campaign, attacking Axis convoys supplying Rommel's Afrika Korps. She sank U374 and later a further unidentified German U Boat. The situation had become so desperate in Malta that before leaving Unbeated left part of its battery for the island's defences before limping back to the U.K. via Gibraltar.
In November 1942 under the command of Lieutenant D.E.O. Watson Unbeaten carried out a succesful landing operation near Vigo and then patrolled off the North West corner of Spain looking for blockade runners when she was ordered to intercept an enemy vessel already attacked and damaged by Coastal Command. She succesfully located and reported the position of this vessel. Unbeaten was then ordered to return and rendevous with an escort vessel off the Bishop's Rock. She never arrived. An aircraft of Coastal Command then reported a succesfull attack on a North bound enemy U Boat in a position very close to where Unbeaten should have been at the time. This location was well within the bombing restriction zone and Unbeaten was therefore within her right to sail on the surface at night in this area. Coastal Command held a Board of Enquiry and although no definite conclusions were reached it was generally accepted that it was Unbeaten which was sunk by what today is often referred to as 'Friendly Fire'.

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

H.M.S. Unique served as part of the 10th Malta Submarine Flotilla which inflicted much damage of the Axis supply lines to North Africa. The role of Germany's U Boats is well known but that of the Royal Navy's submarines in starving the Afrika Korps of vital supplies is largely forgotten. The submarine campaign in the Mediterranean made a vital contribution to the victory in North Africa.
Unique was one of the new 'U' class of submarines which had a poor reputation in their early days due to engine failures and misses. In January 19141 Unique, under the command of Lieutenant A.F. Collett, attacked an enemy convoy off Tunisia and missed. In March she sank the 2,500 ton 'Fenicia' in the same area.
In 1942 she was returning to the Mediterranean after a re-fit under the command of Lieutenant E.R. Boddington when she was diverted to the North coast of Spain where the navy had been having difficulties with blockade runners. Later she failed to arrive in Gibraltar. Another submarine, 'H.M.S. Ursula' had been patrolling in the same area off the Spanish coast and had heard a loud explosion which may have been Unique, but later German reports have never confirmed any attack.

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

H.M.S. Untamed was on exercise with an escort group off Campbeltown in May 1943 when she failed to surface. The anti-submarine yacht 'Shemara' quickly located her in 150 feet of water and a rescue operation was immediately launched. Unfortunately rescue attempts were so hindered by tides that they failed and all hands were lost. It was later discovered that an incorrect drill involved in the raising of the ship's log, an apparatus which protruded from the hull and measured the submarine's speed which was necessary for vital navigation, was the cause of the disaster. Untamed was later recovered, re-fitted and re-named H.M.S. Vitality.

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 897 Location: Glasgow

H.M.S. Vandal was an improved 'U' class submarine. In 1943 she was working up in the deep waters of Kilbrannan Sound and was last seen leaving Loch Ranza on the Isle of Arran in the afternoon of 24th February but failed to return to base.

apanderson · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:31 am Post subject:

Info from UKNIWM:

SANDBANK AND ARDNADAM

UKNIWM Ref: 8537

Address
A815
ARDNADAM

Type: TOWER
Other Location Details: BESIDE A 815, ON THE FORESHORE LAZARETTO POINT
OS Map Ref: PA 230 800
Inscription
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE/ HONOURED MEMROY OF THE/ 124 OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED/ OFFICERS & MEN OF SANDBANK/ AND ARDNADAM WHO SERVED/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919/ (NAMES)/ CHA TILL IAD TUILLE/
WORLD WAR 1939-1945/ IN GRATEFUL AND PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF THE FOLLOWING/ OFFICERS AND MEN FROM SANDBANK AND DISTRICT WHO DIED/ IN THEIR COUNTRY'S SERVICE/ (NAMES)/ IN HONOURED MEMORY ALSO OF THE CREWS OF HM SUBMARINES/ SNAPPER - SYRTIS - UNBEATEN - UNIQUE - UNTAMED - VANDAL/ WHO SAILED FROM THE HOLY LOCH AND FAILED TO RETURN/ THEY SAVED OTHERS, THEMSELVES THEY COULD NOT SAVE
Components
Component Material(s) Height Width Depth Condition
TOWER STONE GOOD
Physical Description
STONE BUILT CIRCULAR TOWER ON STEPPED BASE, SURMOUNTED BY CROSS, WITH TWO MOUNTED PLAQUES AND WALL PROTRUDING FROM SEAWARD SIDE.
Wars Commemorated & People Remembered
War FIRST WORLD WAR
Total names on memorial: 19
Served & Returned 0
Died 19
Is this an exact count? Yes, an exact count
How are the names ordered? surname > forename
What information is listed on the memorial? surname, rank, regiment, forename
Is a list of names on the memorial held by the UKNIWM? Yes
War SECOND WORLD WAR
Total names on memorial: 9
Served & Returned 0
Died 9
Is this an exact count? Yes, an exact count
How are the names ordered? surname
What information is listed on the memorial? surname, rank, regiment, forename
Is a list of names on the memorial held by the UKNIWM? Yes
Maintenance
Are the letters difficult to read? No
Who is responsible for the memorial?
Maintenance History:
Ceremonies
Date: c 1920
Role Performed By
UNKNOWN
Sponsorships
Sponsorship Type: None
Did this include a trust or scholarship? No
Did this include a roll of honour? NOT APPLICABLE
Cost of Site: Not known
Cost of Memorial: Not known
Comments on Costs:
Craftsmen
Not known
References
Co-ordinator's Comments:
Comments:
Photographs: 4
Other Documents: None
Form / Letter: F
Negatives: Yes
Drawings / Plans: No
Minutes: No
Publication Name Author Date Published Page / Date Other Information
BUILDINGS OF SCOTLAND GIFFORD, JOHN 1992 A &B (2000) p.126

apanderson · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:34 am Post subject:

Some recent photos, thank to my good pal Dave Forrest.