Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte
Described by Keble Chatterton as ‘a courteous and charming country gentleman whose shy manner concealed an exceptionally gallant spirit’, Grenfell had to endure nearly a year of unrewarded patrols before being able to orchestrated his first “kill”, the interim seeing him and his crew master their new roles off Ireland, Scotland and in the English Channel. And among his officers was Lieutenant Cedric Naylor, R.N.R., who became one of the most decorated Naval Officers of the Great War, winning three D.S.Os and two D.S.Cs, the whole services in Penshurst.
30 November 1916 - destruction of the UB-19
Grenfell first went into action in Penshurst in November 1916, when she sank the UB-19 on the 30th in a textbook Q-ship action, luring her prey to within 250 yards range after sending off her “panic party”. Grenfell takes up the story:
‘I passed the word to the guns that she [the UB-19] was coming round to our starboard quarter, and then slithered across the deck and had another spy-hole cut in the screen in a moment. Then I saw her coming round the stern, and when she was on the quarter and the guns were all bearing on her I leapt for the signal bell and signalled ‘open fire’.
Inside ten seconds the 3-pounder got off its first shot, which carried a man clean off the conning tower; the second immediately afterwards went through her engine room. The 6-pounder and the 12-pounder took up the game almost at once, and the shells began to burst all over the sub. We hit her mostly in the conning tower and the after part. Shells burst all along her water line and the 12- pounder Lyddite did grand work. Most of the conning tower was blown clean away, and one shell blew a great sheet of deck plating spinning into the air. We could see the men running on her deck, and falling or diving overboard. A knot gathered at the fore and where the shells were less numerous. It was a grand sight - and I must admit I mafficked [celebrate, as in Mafeking Day] - I had to run down and shake old Naylor, at the 12-pounder - by the hand.
All this time the sub was going ahead towards our boars, and we learned afterwards that our second shot, besides preventing her submerging, also prevented them stopping engines. The submarine was now partly shrouded by the smoke of the bursting shells, and a shout went up that the men on her were waving in token of surrender. I stopped the firing, but as I was mindful of Admiral Colville’s injunction to me when we commissioned not to take any chances, but to go on firing until the sub. sank, I commenced firing again. A very little more, however, convinced me that all was up with her.’
Grenfell duly returned to Portland, with 13 survivors from UB-19’s crew. He was awarded the D.S.O., which insignia he received at Buckingham Palace on 14 February 1917.
14 January 1917 - destruction of the UB-37
Meanwhile, in January 1917, Grenfell sighted the UB-37, Kapitain Lieutnant Günther. The U-Boat opened fire immediately and Grenfell ordered the usual “panic party” tactics to be carried out. Slowly the UB-37 closed in until she was 700 yards off the Q-ship’s starboard bow and twice in succession Penshurst was hit by shell fire and several members of her crew, who were waiting in concealment for the order to open fire, were killed or wounded. At first Grenfell anticipated that Günther would take UB-37 around to the Q-ship’s boats off Penshurst’s port quarter and that such action would afford the opportunity of decreasing the range, but it soon became obvious that Günther had no intention of closing in and Grenfell decided to reveal his true colours and commence an action.
At 4.24 p.m. Penshurst hoisted her White Ensign and her apparently deserted decks became alive with activity as the screens concealing her armament were lowered and her guns opened a rapid fire on the submarine. The first shell from Penshurst’s 12-pounder struck the base of UB-37‘s conning tower and when the black smoke which resulted from the violent explosion had cleared away, it was observed that a part of the U-Boat’s conning tower was missing. A second shell caused further damage to UB-37‘s hull and at least four more hits were registered on her conning tower before she sank to the bottom with all hands. To ensure the U-Boat’s destruction, Penshurst steamed over the position where she had disappeared and dropped depth-charges before returning to Portland. There were no survivors.
Grenfell was recommended for the C.B., no doubt as a result of his senior rank, but was instead awarded a Bar to his D.S.O., which insignia he received at Buckingham Palace on 16 November 1918.
22 February 1917 - U-84 severely damaged
Just over a month later, two days after an inconclusive action 20 February, Penshurst engaged the U-84 off the south coast of Ireland. Having avoided a torpedo attack, Grenfell and his men achieved several hits, causing U-84 significant damage and wounding members of her crew - the U-boat managed to limp back to Germany on the surface, where Admiral Scheer described her survival as a miracle.
Following the actions of 20 and 22 February 1917, he was specially promoted to Captain, presumably in lieu of receiving another D.S. O.
On 8 March Grenfell fought another surface action with a U-Boat at the Eastern end of the English Channel. Both vessels were badly damaged, Penshurst requiring a major refit. And it was at this juncture that he was appointed to the Staff of the Director of Anti- Submarine Defence, in which capacity he would have kept in touch with Penshurst’s activities and been among the first to hear of her demise in December 1917.
Demobilised in November 1918, in order to return to his appointment on the Board of Education, the gallant Grenfell died in April 1946; sold with copied research.
www.dnw.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261