Anthony Miers
Encyclopedia
Rear Admiral
Sir Anthony Cecil Capel Miers VC
, KBE
, CB
, DSO
& Bar
(11 November 1906 – 30 June 1985) was a Royal Navy
officer, who served in the submarine service during the Second World War. He was a Scottish
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces.
He was involved in two incidents alleged to be war crimes while commanding HMS Torbay
.
though no serious damage was caused.
Torbay left for its first patrol at very short notice, with half the crew on leave, and replaced by members of the spare crew of the depot ship. The reason being that the pocket battleship
s Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau
, had arrived at Brest and needed to be shadowed in case they sailed for the Atlantic sea lanes. The submarine later continued to Gibraltar
, then Alexandria
to join the 1st Submarine Flotilla.
On 27 April 1941 while on patrol off Cape Ferrato Miers attacked a two-masted single-funnelled merchant ship of about 4000 GRT with two torpedoes which both missed.
On 28 May 1941 Torbay's 3rd war patrol was in the northern Aegean Sea.
After sinking two Greek caiques with gunfire Torbay torpedoed and damaged the Vichy French tanker Alberta off Cape Hellas.
In 1989 former Royal Naval Officer and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy
published his autobiography, in which he devoted several pages to "a submarine atrocity" on the night of 9 July 1941 which gave rise to the accusation of 'war crimes'.
According to the accounts, on two separate occasions, Miers ordered the machine-gunning of several shipwrecked German soldiers in rafts who had jumped overboard when their vessels were sunk by the Torbay.
These events were witnessed and reported by acting First Lieutenant Paul Chapman who reported "everything and everybody was destroyed by one sort of gunfire or another".
Miers also made no attempt to conceal his actions, his patrol log recording: "Submarine cast off, and with the Lewis gun accounted for the soldiers in the rubber raft to prevent them from regaining their ship..."
When informed of Miers' actions, Flag Officer Submarines Admiral Horton wrote to the Admiralty about the possibility of German reprisals: "As far as I am aware, the enemy has not made a habit of firing on personnel in the water or on rafts even when such personnel were members of the fighting services; since the incidents referred to in Torbay's report, he may feel justified in doing so."
The Admiralty then sent a strongly worded letter to Miers advising him not to repeat the practices of his last patrol.
He had already carried out nine successful patrols in HMS Torbay in the Mediterranean theatre before the patrol in March 1942 which saw the incident which earned him the V.C.
The citation read
in 1956.
He died in 1985 and is buried at Tomnahurich Cemetery, Inverness, Scotland, in the Roman Catholic Section.
, London.
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Sir Anthony Cecil Capel Miers VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(11 November 1906 – 30 June 1985) was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer, who served in the submarine service during the Second World War. He was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces.
He was involved in two incidents alleged to be war crimes while commanding HMS Torbay
HMS Torbay (N79)
was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 9 April 1940.Torbay had an active and successful career, serving mainly in the Mediterranean, although she also served in the Pacific Far East at the end of the war.Altogether she sank 17 merchant...
.
Early life
Born in 1906, the son of an Army Captain killed in First World War, Miers was educated at the Edinburgh Academy, before joining the Navy as a special entry cadet. He volunteered for the submarine service in 1929.Service history
In November 1940 he was given command of HM Submarine Torbay. While working up HMS Torbay collided with the British tanker Vancouver in Loch LongLoch Long
Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 miles in length, with a width of between one and two miles...
though no serious damage was caused.
Torbay left for its first patrol at very short notice, with half the crew on leave, and replaced by members of the spare crew of the depot ship. The reason being that the pocket battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and Gneisenau
German battleship Gneisenau
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...
, had arrived at Brest and needed to be shadowed in case they sailed for the Atlantic sea lanes. The submarine later continued to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, then Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to join the 1st Submarine Flotilla.
On 27 April 1941 while on patrol off Cape Ferrato Miers attacked a two-masted single-funnelled merchant ship of about 4000 GRT with two torpedoes which both missed.
On 28 May 1941 Torbay's 3rd war patrol was in the northern Aegean Sea.
After sinking two Greek caiques with gunfire Torbay torpedoed and damaged the Vichy French tanker Alberta off Cape Hellas.
In 1989 former Royal Naval Officer and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy
Ludovic Kennedy
Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
published his autobiography, in which he devoted several pages to "a submarine atrocity" on the night of 9 July 1941 which gave rise to the accusation of 'war crimes'.
According to the accounts, on two separate occasions, Miers ordered the machine-gunning of several shipwrecked German soldiers in rafts who had jumped overboard when their vessels were sunk by the Torbay.
These events were witnessed and reported by acting First Lieutenant Paul Chapman who reported "everything and everybody was destroyed by one sort of gunfire or another".
Miers also made no attempt to conceal his actions, his patrol log recording: "Submarine cast off, and with the Lewis gun accounted for the soldiers in the rubber raft to prevent them from regaining their ship..."
When informed of Miers' actions, Flag Officer Submarines Admiral Horton wrote to the Admiralty about the possibility of German reprisals: "As far as I am aware, the enemy has not made a habit of firing on personnel in the water or on rafts even when such personnel were members of the fighting services; since the incidents referred to in Torbay's report, he may feel justified in doing so."
The Admiralty then sent a strongly worded letter to Miers advising him not to repeat the practices of his last patrol.
He had already carried out nine successful patrols in HMS Torbay in the Mediterranean theatre before the patrol in March 1942 which saw the incident which earned him the V.C.
The citation read
Lieutenant Commander Anthony Cecil Chapel Miers DSO Royal Navy Whilst on patrol in HM Submarine Torbay off the Greek coast on the 4th March 1942.
Lieutenant Commander Miers sighted a northbound convoy of four troopships entering the South Corfu Channel and since they had been too far distant for him to attack initially, he decided to follow in the hope of catching them in Corfu Harbour. During the night 4/5 March, Torbay approached undetected up the channel and remained on the surface charging her battery. Unfortunately the convoy passed straight through the channel but on the morning of the 5th March, in glassy sea conditions, Miers successfully attacked two store ships present in the roadstead and then brought Torbay safely back to the open sea. The submarine endured 40 depth charges and had been in closely patrolled enemy waters for seventeen hours.
Later life
Later Sir Anthony, he continued to serve in the Royal Navy, and achieved the rank of Rear AdmiralRear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
in 1956.
He died in 1985 and is buried at Tomnahurich Cemetery, Inverness, Scotland, in the Roman Catholic Section.
The medal
His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War MuseumImperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London.
See also
- Dudley W. MortonDudley W. MortonDudley Walker Morton was a submarine commander of the United States Navy during World War II. He was commander of during its third through seventh patrols. Wahoo was one of the most-celebrated submarines of World War II, sinking at least 19 Japanese ships, more than any other submarine of the time...
- Heinz-Wilhelm EckHeinz-Wilhelm EckHeinz-Wilhelm Eck was a German U-Boat commander of the Second World War, who was tried, convicted, condemned and executed postwar for ordering his crew to shoot the survivors of a Greek merchantman sunk by .-Service history:...
External links
- Location of grave and VC medal (Highland, Scotland)
- War crimes details (Archived 2009-10-25)