Everything tagged "HMS Titania" | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Everything tagged "HMS Titania"

Light Airs prelim page.JPG

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
2019

Light Airs Cover.jpeg

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
2019

I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to upload "Light Airs" as a Book, as I've recorded the pages as scans and photos when the scanner failed to work. Perhaps David can compress it into a more compact format later. Meanwhile, here goes....

"Light Airs" Vol. VI

"Light Airs" in seven volumes was the journal of the 4th Submarine Flotilla. The submarines seem to have each taken it in turns to compile a volume of the journal. Printed by Kelly & Walsh Ltd., Hong Kong, Vol. VI was compiled by members of the crew of HM Submarine L3. The editor was R.G. Liveing and the pages I shall be uploading is from the copy kept by the commanding officer, Lt.-Cdr. W. R. Fell. The journal  gives a flavour of life on a submarine and is a nice example of 1920s humour - submariner humour.


 

Piratical Fishing Junks.jpg

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1928

Presumably taken from HM Submarine L3. From the 1928-1929 album of William Richmond Fell. There may be an account of what happened next in his journals.

Randall Thomas GORDON-DUFF (aka Randy) [1904-1942]

Status: 
Deceased
Sex: 
Male
Names
Family: 
Gordon-Duff
Given: 
Randall Thomas
Alias / nickname: 
Randy
Birth
Date: 
1904-08-19
Death
Date: 
1942-01-31
Cause of death: 
Ship torpedoed and sunk

Lt Randy Gordon-Duff was an officer on HM Submarine L3 in the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station 1928-1929. The task of the flotilla was to chase down pirates up and down the China coast, mainly around Wei-Hai-Wei, Bia's Bay and Hong Kong. Gordon-Duff was promoted to Lt Cmdr and returned to Hong Kong commanding HMS Proteus in 1939-1940. He died when HMS Culver which he was commanding in 1942 was hit and sunk by two torpedoes off Cape Clear while escorting a convoy. He married Mollie Olga Sinclair in 1937.

Birthplace (country): 

Auntie+L27.jpg

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1928

HMS Titania was known to the submarine crews, whose depot ship she was, as "Auntie". Here she is with HM Submarine L27 alongside.

The photo is from the 1928-1929 album of W.R. Fell who commanded HM Submarine L3.

Titania&Submarines.jpg

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1928

Although this is not a good quality photo, it expresses David's observation about HMS Titania being a mother duck with her ducklings. HMS Kent stands by.

The photo is from the 1928-1929 album of W.R. Fell.

Titania Christmas party WRF.jpg

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1929

On the same page of the HK Telegraph, 2 November 1929 that carries the announcement of the departure for Home of HMS Titania and the 4th Submarine Flotilla for the following morning, there is a report on The Titania Farewell Dance that took place on 1st November at Lane Crawford's. It looks as if it might have been the same occasion as this photo records, labelled "Big Children's Party 1929 Xmas," but on return to the ship. The date has been corrected from 1928 to 1929. Titania would no longer have been in Hong Kong at Christmas 1929. The article mentions a fancy dress competition.

4th Submarine Flotilla Four.png

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1929

This is the 4th Submarine Flotilla rowing four in action referred to in moddsey's earlier post. They came third in a race of four teams for the 4th Submarine Flotilla Cup won by the Jardine Matheson team over a distance of one mile. The regatta, held by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club at North Point, was reported in the Hong Kong Sunday Herald of 24 March, 1929.

The photo comes from the 1928-1929 album of William Richmond Fell, who coxed the four.

Titania Soccer Team.jpg

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1929

This photo is from the 1928-29 album of William Richmond Fell. It is on the facing page to his photo of the winning L3 submarine team that he has dated 1929, so I have dated it the same. No names are given, I'm afraid.

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