Condolence booklet listing the crew of AE1
Date1914
Object number00054268
NameBooklet
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 270 x 220 mm
ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Lord Abinger
DescriptionA condolence book presented to relatives of the crew of the submarine AE1 which disappeared without a trace on 14 September 1914 while on patrol in the St George's Channel off Rabaul. This particular copy was presented to the family of Lieutenant the Honourable Leopold Florence Scarlett, Third Officer aboard AE1.
Inside the book is a black and white image of the submarine above water with the list of officers, petty officers and men. The books included various messages of condolence such as one by then Head of the British Admiralty Winston Churchil reading "The King commands me to assure you of the true sympathy of His Majesty and the Queen in your sorrow."
Also inside, a note typed on Commonwealth of Australia Navy Office reading: 14th January 1916 Major Lord Abinger Scartlett, Rownham House, Hants, England.HistoryLieutenant the Honourable Leopold Florence Scarlett was born in 1889 in Hampshire, England. He trained as a submarine officer for the Royal Navy but moved to Australia after being diagnosed with TB. He was retired due to being 'unfit' from the Royal Navy in June of 1913. Scarlett managed to recover his health after spending time in Queensland with his brother who was serving as Aide de Camp to the Governor.
When the submarines AE1 and AE2 were refitting at Cockatoo Island in June 1914, Commander Thomas Besant of AE1 requested more trained submarine officers from the Royal Navy in London. The Navy Office responded with the assignment of Lieutenant Scarlett who had volunteered and been accepted for service in Brisbane. Scarlett was then appointed as a Lieutenant of the Royal Australian Navy on AE1 in August, 1914.
In September 1914 AE1 was sent as part of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force to New Guinea. This was an effort by the Allies to eliminate the German presence in the region and destroy German wireless communication stations.
On September 14, AE1 and HMAS PARRAMATTA were directed out into the St Georges channel around New Britain and New Ireland in attempts to locate any enemy ships that may still be in the area. Although seas were calm, it was noted that the day itself was hazy and by mid-afternoon visibility on the water was reduced to five nautical miles. At 1520 HMAS PARRAMATTA spotted AE1 off Bernard Point. However, by 2000 that night AE1 had not returned to Simpson Harbour as agreed. HMAS PARRAMATTA and HMAS YARRA started to search for her that night but no trace was found. The next morning the search was widened and now included HMAS ENCOUNTER and HMAS WARREGO. At the end of three days searching, which now also included a number of smaller vessels available to the Australians, the search was concluded with no trace or clue as to what had happened to AE1. In a report back to the Admiralty Vice Admiral Patey suggested that AE1 most likely had struck an underwater reef and sunk in the deeper waters of the channel.
In December 2017, a search for Australia’s first submarine, HMAS AE1, was undertaken by a collaborative team comprising researchers and specialists from the Silentworld Foundation, ANMM, Find AE1 Ltd., the Royal Australian Navy and Fugro, N.V. The search was successful and identified AE1’s final resting place off the Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea.
In April 2018, further research was carried out at the site by the ANMM, Find AE1 Ltd. and Curtin University’s HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch) aboard R/V PETREL, a vessel owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and operated by Vulcan, Inc. Also on board was a Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) and images relayed back to researchers aboard PETREL revealed vital clues to a sequence of events that led to AE1’s loss.
For example, the submarine’s bow and stern torpedo tube caps were found to be either partially or fully open, and that this appears to have been an intentional act carried out on the surface. Why the caps were open, and whether they contributed in some manner to the loss will likely never be known.
Similarly, the reason that a ventilation valve was partially open will probably never be known, but it is fair to say that it was one of the root causes of the submarine’s demise once it began to submerge on what would be its last dive. Despite efforts by the crew to recover—as evidenced by the positions of the submarine’s hydroplanes—AE1 was overwhelmed by the inflow of water through the ventilation valve and began to sink by the stern.
At an unknown depth, the forward pressure hull partially imploded, killing the crew instantly. The submarine continued its fatal dive until it struck the seabed stern first at a shallow angle, breaking off the skeg and rudder. The hull then pitched forward, breaking AE1’s back and possibly snapping off all four hydroplane guards. This violent movement also affected the fin, which—likely already weakened structurally during the implosion—began to topple forward into the remnants of the control room.Going forward, the imagery and 3D model generated as a result of the 2018 investigations will prove critical in AE1’s ongoing interpretation, exhibition and management.
SignificanceThe submarines AE1 and AE2 have a significant place in RAN history, not only as the first submarines built for the navy but also the role they played in Australia’s first engagements in World War 1. AE1 as part of the Australian Expeditionary Force to New Guinea and AE2 in her heroic mission through the Dardanelles and into the Sea of Marmora. Crews of submarines were very much viewed as heroes, "That is why every man who joins the sub- marine service, officer and man, are among the pick of the navy, the bravest of brave. Though AE1 was not lost in action with the enemy, each man on board, from Lieutenant-Commander Besant down, ready to hazard his life in the dangerous work he had chosen in the Empire's vice “(Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 1914).
1914 - 1915
