Rupert Lonsdale, later Canon Lonsdale, was one of the officers who served on HM Submarine L3 in the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station in 1928-29, having first served on the X1 in 1927. In May 1939 he came back to the China Sea in command of Seal a Grampus class submarine, but returned to the North Sea patrol. Seal was given the task of laying a minefield in Kattegat, but was bombed by a Heinkel. Diving to evade e-boats Seal hit a newly laid minefield and was damaged. <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1929
This photo is from the personal album of William Richmond Fell who commanded HM Submarine L3 on the China Station in 1928-29. He is seen here on the left, sitting on the hull of L3 with his chief engineer, Mr Waterson and Lt. Rupert Lonsdale. A similar photo, perhaps taken on the same day, shows Mr Waterson with Lt. Gordon-Duff and another officer. The future WW2 fates of Gordon-Duff and Lonsdale have been recorded and are easy to find. Waterson was perhaps older. Without knowing his first name, I've been unable to find out anything about his further career. <Read more ...>
In his early career, Capt. Richard Lindsay Stephen Gaisford, RN, OBE was one of the officers on HM Submarine L3 serving on the China Station in 1928-29. Photos taken by Capt. WR Fell at the time show him with fellow officers enjoying walking and boating excursions in and around Hong Kong. He married Cecily Margaret de Vitré in 1933. From 1940-1942 he served on HMS Clyde and HMS Vansittart respectively. <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1929
This is the righthand of two photos placed side by side in the 1928-29 album of WR Fell, that carry the legend "Departure of Capt. Glencross". Glencross gave up his command of HMS Titania and the 4th Submarine Flotilla in February 1929. I expect the exact date is given somewhere. These two photos should join the enquiry placed by his grandson, Jon Glencross at https://gwulo.com/node/46493 <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1929
This is the lefthand of two photos placed side by side in WR Fell's album of 1928-29, which carry the legend "Departure of Captain Glencross". John Buller Glencross ceded his command of HMS Titania and the 4th Submarine Flotilla in February 1929. These two photos should join the thread https://gwulo.com/node/46493 begun by Jon Glencross, who posted an enquiry about his grandfather. <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1928
I didn't upload this photo with the previous batch of 4th Submarine Flotilla photos as I wasn't sure if it was relevant to Hong Kong. It comes from WR Fell's album of 1928-29 and the nearby photos are from Bias Bay, a notorious hideout for pirates. HMS Marazion was a Hunt-class minesweeper launched by Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley, Yard No 453, on 15 April 1919 and sold in March 1933 in Hong Kong. She acted as a submarine tender and was present at the sinking of Poseidon in 1931(Wikipedia).<Read more ...>
I put the link to this hydrographical sea chart on the thread connected with Plover Bay. However I thought it deserves an image in its own right on Gwulo as the names are so evocative, e.g. Crooked Harbour, Port Shelter, Rocky Hanrbour and the Nine Pin Group of islands, and I'm not sure if they still exist. There's also a nice little glossary of Chinese to English geographical terms. From the information given, I believe the chart was from the 1906 British Survey but not printed till 1912 and then reissued by the US during World War 2. <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1929
This is one of the photos from WR Fell's 1928-29 album. In the 1920s HMS Titiania and the 4th Submarine Flotilla were collaborating with the Chinese Navy, I believe, in seeking out and getting rid of pirates up and down the China coast. Many of WRF's photos are taken at Weihaiwei and around Mirs Bay, Plover Cove and Tolo. <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1929
I've uploaded these photos from WR Fell's 1928-1929 album which must be contemporary with the recreational small boat trips to the nearby Plover Cove that the officers took, sometimes with friends from shore and which relate to the photos labelled "Plover Cove". <Read more ...>
