| Accession Number | G00453 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Glass transparency (positive) |
| Maker |
Brooks, Ernest |
| Place made | At sea |
| Date made | c December 1914 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Lieutenant (Lt) (later Commander) Norman Douglas Holbrook VC of HMS B11, on board HMS Adamant. Lt ...
Description
Lieutenant (Lt) (later Commander) Norman Douglas Holbrook VC of HMS B11, on board HMS Adamant. Lt Holbrook won the first Victoria Cross (VC) medal to be awarded to a submariner for his actions on 13 December 1914 in sinking the Turkish battleship MESSUDIYE in the Dardanelles Straits. Navigating B11, an obsolete submarine built in 1905, through five rows of mines, he successfully returned his craft back to the Mediterranean, evading gun fire and torpedo boats, after having been submerged for nine hours. The New South Wales town of Germanton was renamed Holbrook in honour of his exploit, a name change brought about by fierce anti-German sentiment.