Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas (Part I)

The exceptional Great War ‘Baltic Submarines’ M.B.E., D.S.M. group of nine awarded to Lieutenant-Commander (E) J. D. C. Bonham, Royal Navy, who served in E19 from the commencement of the war, was in eight successful actions and also forced a passage into the Baltic., and sailed in every trip made by E19

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 1st type breast badge; Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (M.1213 J. D. C. Bonham, E.R.A. 2Cl. H.M. Submarines Baltic Sea 1917); 1914-15 Star (M.1213 J. D. C. Bonham, E.R.A.3. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Art. Eng. J. D. C. Bonham. R.N.); Jubilee 1935; Russia, Empire, Cross of St George for bravery, 3rd Class, the reverse numbered ‘No. 72 123’; Medal of St George for Bravery, 4th Class, the reverse numbered ‘No. 269691’; Medal for Zeal, silver, large size with full neck cravat, together with companion group of nine miniature dress medals and two ribbon bars, generally good very fine (9) £3,000-£4,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas.

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Collection

Douglas-Morris Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, October 1996.

M.B.E. (Military) London Gazette 4 June 1934: Birthday Honours, Commissioned Engineer J. D .C. Bonham, R.N. Medal presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 26 June 1934.

D.S.M. London Gazette 26 April 1918: ‘In recognition of distinguished services performed in difficult circumstances and during a long period in British submarines operating in the Baltic Sea.’ The recommendation states:

‘H.M. Submarine E19. Submarine service Baltic Sea 1917. For good and arduous service in British submarines in the Baltic. One of four men who have served in E19 since the commencement of the war and have been in eight successful actions and also forced a passage into the Baltic., and have since sailed in every trip made by E19. For special promotion to Mate. Has already been strongly recommended in the usual manner but so far has not been awarded his commission.’

M.I.D. London Gazette 11 November 1919.

The Distinguished Service Medal was awarded for services in the submarine E19, Commanded by the legendary Commander Francis Newton Allan Cromie, D.S.O., later to be murdered by a member of the Checka Guard (forerunner of the K.G.B.) on the steps of the British Embassy at Petrograd on 31 August 1918. On 7 November 1915, E19 torpedoed the German cruiser Undine in the Western Baltic, and to make certain of her destruction, Cromie torpedoed her twice. His first shot stopped her and set her on fire. EI9 dived underneath her and, coming up the other side, sealed her fate with another torpedo that hit just abaft the mainmast. Her magazine exploded and the Undine went straight to the bottom.

It was not, of course, these successful results alone which justified the sending of submarines into the Baltic. Nor was it entirely the sinking of enemy merchant vessels, though these losses were severe enough. Consider a day's work by EI9. She began by stopping the Walter Leonhardt, bound from Lulea to Hamburg with iron ore. She was sunk with a charge of guncotton after the crew had been taken off by a Swedish vessel. Two hours later EI9 was chasing the Germania, bound with iron ore for Stettin. She refused to stop and was driven ashore. EI9 went alongside to take off her crew, but they had already scrambled over the rocks to safety. Lieutenant-Commander Cromie tried to tow the Germania off in order to sink her, but failing in this he left her so damaged that she could never sail again.

An hour later saw EI9 in chase of the Gutrune, whom she caught after two hours. She, too, was loaded with iron ore and sent to the bottom, EI9 taking off her crew and transferring them to another Swedish ship. The next ship stopped was the Swedish Nyland, but her papers showed her bound for Rotterdam and she was allowed to proceed. Ten minutes later she caught the Direktor Rippenhagen, another iron ore ship. She followed her predecessors to the bottom and Cromie embarked her crew in his submarine until he was able to stop a Swedish ship bound for Newcastle, whose captain agreed to take the German crew with him.

Next on the list was the Nicodemia, the largest of the lot and carrying a very full cargo of iron ore from Lulea to Hamburg. On sighting EI9 she turned and made for the Swedish coast, hoping to reach the safety of territorial waters before being caught. Two shots across her bows brought a change of mind, and EI9 sent across a boarding party. Her crew was ordered into the boats and a scuttling charge placed on board which sent her cargo of 7,000 tons of ore to the bottom. The submarine then towed the boatloads of survivors to the coast. Early the following morning, EI9 intercepted the Nike. She was Swedish, but being bound to Stettin with iron ore was a legitimate prize as she was trying to run the blockade with contraband. Cromie put a prize crew, consisting of one Lieutenant and two men, on board and sent her to Reval to be condemned in prize and her cargo confiscated. It was not for nothing that the Germans themselves, in 1915 and 1916, began to call the Baltic ‘Horton's Sea’. During those two years they lost the command of those waters, perhaps the biggest dividend ever earned by so small a naval force in the whole of maritime history.

The end came on 8 April 1918, after the signing of a separate treaty between Russia and Germany at Brest Litovsk. One of the terms of the treaty was the surrender of the British flotilla to the enemy, but Cromie refused to accept this. That morning he found a surface ship whose crew was still friendly enough to the British officers and were able to perform one last service. The seven submarines, led by the Russian ship, proceeded to sea for the last time. On reaching deep water scuttling charges were placed in each boat and the crews taken off. On board the Russian ship they withdrew a short distance and then stopped to watch the final act. As the time fuses reached the charges a series of explosions blew holes in the pressure hulls and the seven submarines began to settle in the water. A few minutes later they were gone. They were E1, E8, E9, E19, C26, C27, and C35, the last boats of a flotilla that had won a notable victory.

James Douglas Carden Bonham was promoted to Artificer Engineer on 1 November 1918, later confirmed as a Warrant Engineer with the same seniority date. Promoted to Lieutenant (E) 9 August 1934, retiring in this rank in 1937. He was recalled for service in 1941 and appointed to H.M.S. Dolphin, Submarine Base, on 29 May 1941, for ‘Miscellaneous Duties,’ and continued to serve at H.M.S. Dolphin until demobilised in November 1945, having been promoted to Lieutenant Commander (E) on 9 August 1942. Also entitled to Defence and War Medals. Lieutenant Commander Bonham died in 1947/8.