History On Our Doorstep: Harwich and the U-Boats
Transcript of History On Our Doorstep: Harwich and the U-Boats
Harwich & The U-Boats
by Rebecca Hickman
History On Our Doorstep
First published 2020
Copyright © New Heritage Solutions CIC
No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any
information storage and retrieval system) except brief
extracts by a reviewer for the purpose of review, without
permission of the copyright owner.
Designed and Illustrated by Andrew Farrell
ISBN 9781911311584
Printed by Leiston Press
On the Back Cover: Three Uboats during the surrender process, with crews
waiting to be transported back to Germany. © IWM
Dedicated to all those who lost their
lives in the war at sea, 1914-1918.
The material for this booklet came together through the research
of the author combined with input from the staff and volunteers
of a twoyear National Lottery Heritage Fund project called:
‘Harwich Haven: Surrender and Sanctuary’. This project ran
from the spring of 2018 through to January 2020 and involved
people living around the Harwich Haven in North East Essex and
East Suffolk (notably Harwich, Felixstowe and the Shotley
Peninsula). The purpose of the project was to explore a defining
passage of world history through the anniversaries of two hugely
significant events that happened locally. They were: the centenary
in 2018 of the surrender of the German Uboat fleet at Harwich in
November 1918 and the arrival of the first Jewish refugee
children, better known as the Kindertransport, in December 1938.
These two events were not only of international importance but
they neatly bookend a traumatic twentyyear period when
Europe and the world slipped from one violent conflict to
another.
About the Project
Our work in and around Harwich was intended as a unique
commemoration to engage people with these momentous events
and get them to ask questions about how wars start and end, and
how ordinary people are affected by them. The project was
delivered in partnership with national organisations such as The
National Archives and The Wiener Library, together with local
community groups such as the Harwich Festival and HMS
Ganges Museum. It empowered people to help deliver
communitybased, intergenerational research and activities,
including: walking trails, a refugee exhibition, video, archive film
shows, lectures, art exhibitions, art installations, community art
projects and, finally, a heritage and wellbeing conference.
This booklet is intended as a starting point for readers who want
to find out more about the history of the Uboats in World War I
and the surrender at Harwich. We make no claims for it being the
definitive history. It has been published alongside a similar
publication about the Kindertransport. We are especially grateful
to the Essex Heritage Trust for its help in funding the print and
production of this booklet and to the Imperial War Museum for
access to its records and use of some of its images.
Nick Patrick, Project Director
Harwich, January 2020
On 19 November 1918, eight days after the First World War had
ended, Royal Navy Submarine Service officers from across the
United Kingdom gathered in the Maidstone depot ship at
Parkeston Quay—now known as Harwich International Port. One
of the officers, Commander Stephen KingHall, told his diary of a
'merry' atmosphere that evening, 'for it is questionable if there
had ever been so many submarine officers gathered together in
one place'. That same night, train carriages filled with journalists,
cameramen, and artists also descended on Harwich. Given the
lack of space on the depot ships, one reporter had to sleep on a
billiard table. 'The cause of the gathering,' KingHall wrote, 'was
enough to make the dumb sing'.1 For neither the first nor the last
time, Harwich found itself at the centre of an event of truly global
significance.
Early the next day, KingHall and the rest of the assembled Royal
Navy parties sailed their light cruisers and destroyers out into the
North Sea. Expectant crowds lined the shores of Harwich and
Felixstowe to await their return—along with their new guests.
Introduction: Corridors of Metal
As the morning fog cleared, there came into view a cluster of
inbound vessels flying both the British and German naval
ensigns. Twenty submarines from the Imperial German Navy
were soon anchored in the River Stour. Many more would arrive
in the coming months.
These submarines, called Unterseeboots in their country of
origin, had only weeks before been the pride of the German navy
during its war against Britain, France, and the United States.
Sneaking beneath the water's surface, they targeted vital supply
ships heading for Britain in an attempt to starve the country into
submission. These activities earned them a reputation in British
propaganda as 'ruthless pests' and 'the greatest menace that ever
Surrendered Uboats lining up in ‘Uboat Avenue,’ 1918. © IWM
faced our Empire'.2 Yet here they were, sailing into captivity to
form a sprawling metal corridor that came to be known as 'Uboat
Avenue'.
The surrender of the Uboats was one of the terms of the
Armistice agreement that ended the First World War at 'the
eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' in 1918.
The Germans, on whom the Armistice had placed full blame for
the conflict, were to bring the Uboats to a designated spot
between Britain and mainland Europe where they would be
boarded by Royal Navy sailors and guided back towards British
shores. Harwich was chosen to host the surrendered ships due to
its prior service as a base for the British Submarine Service
during the war. Emotions were high on both sides. Gordon S.
Maxwell, a British naval officer involved in the surrender
process, later recalled:
Twenty miles from the coast [we] met the U-Boats;all our men being at action stations, for they hadlearnt by long and bitter experience that the onlyGerman that can be trusted is a dead one … Withoutdemonstration of any kind these sea-murderers,who had fouled the name of the second largest Navyin the world with a stain that nothing can wash out,went to their captivity … their prison was the RiverStour.3
From November 1918 to April 1919, 168 German Uboats found
their way to Harwich via this process—an event that had a
profound impact on the minds of all who participated or
observed. As part of a wider effort to revive public awareness of
this subject, this booklet offers a brief introduction to the history
of German submarines during the First World War, their impact
on the British war effort, and their ultimate surrender to British
control. It also provides a launching pad for researching this
history, with resources to be followed up by readers of any age or
level of prior knowledge.
I: The First World War
From 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918, Europe and much of
the globe was engulfed in one of history's deadliest conflicts: the
First World War. Fought primarily between the Central Powers
(Germany, AustriaHungary, and the Ottoman Empire) and the
'Triple Entente' or Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia,
and later the United States of America), the war claimed around
20 million lives worldwide.
On land, the fighting was largely characterised by 'trench
warfare,' in which opposing armies would dig in at strategic
locations and wait for an opportunity to gain ground. When
commanders ordered their soldiers to go 'over the top,' as at the
Battle of the Somme (JulyNovember 1916), it usually resulted in
enormous loss of life for both sides.
As it became clear that neither alliance was capable of delivering
a crushing blow on land, attention increasingly turned to the seas.
The race between Britain and Germany to build bigger and better
ships had been brewing for years before war broke out,4 and the
Location of the Battle of Jutland
two giant navies met at the Battle of Jutland in MayJune 1916
near Denmark. Although both sides claimed victory, the results
were ultimately indecisive.5
In addition to setpiece naval battles, the British Royal Navy
maintained a blockade of German shipping throughout the First
World War, causing mass food shortages and disrupting German
supply lines.6 The Germans complained that the blockade was
inhumane, but with the armies and conventional navies of both
sides having failed to gain a decisive advantage, the strategy of
starving the enemy out seemed to offer an alternative path to
victory. And before long, the Germans had discovered an
effective way to achieve similar results: submarines.
II: Submarine Warfare
Although the First World War marked the arrival of submarine
warfare as a common tactic, the idea of fighting below the water's
surface was not entirely new. The first modern submersible boat
intended for combat was the Turtle, an almost spherical vessel
built in 1775 for use against the British during the American
Revolutionary War. Its single occupant would navigate his way to
the side of an enemy battleship, attach an explosive, and then
retreat. The idea was not widely adopted.
Germany was at the forefront of submarine research in the
nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries. In 1850 a Bavarian
inventor launched the submarine Brandtaucher, designed to
protect Germany's ports during its war with Denmark.7 The
Imperial German Navy brought its first twentiethcentury Uboat
into commission in 1906, and by early 1914 there were 400
submarines in operation around the world—77 in the Royal Navy
and 29 in the German navy.8
By this time, submarines had adopted a more recognisable boat
like shape. Their offensive capabilities included launching
underwater projectiles called torpedoes, or laying mines. As the
arms race between Britain and Germany escalated, submarine
technology advanced swiftly, resulting in vessels that could dive
faster, deeper, and for longer. The German U9698 line, launched
towards the end of the First World War, possessed diesel engines
producing 2,300 horsepower, and could dive in 66 seconds.
As the crews became larger, and as submarines could travel ever
greater distances from home, the sense of community and
comradeship among the sailors increased. On long missions,
submarines crews also needed entertainment between attacks. For
instance, in the buildup to the sinking of the British liner
British wartime diagram of a captured German minelaying submarine.
Lusitania by the U20 in 1915—an event that claimed 1,198
lives—one German crewmember described a lighthearted
atmosphere inside the submarine:
In short, there were many drawbacks, but goodspirits were not one of them. In the tight, over-crowded little mess room we ate and talked. Thedinner was washed down with tea mixed with rum,and I lost count of the number of toasts that weredrunk ... After dinner came a concert. Yes, we had anorchestra. It consisted of three pieces, a violin, amandolin, and the inevitable nautical accordion. TheBerlin Philharmonic does better, but our concert wasgood.9
Despite rapid technological developments, many leading figures
around the world remained doubtful of the effectiveness of
The crew of the infamous U9. Image courtesy of the Deutsches UBoot Museum,
CuxhavenAltenbruch, Germany.
submarine warfare.10 They despised its sneaking, underhanded
nature, leading Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson to comment in 1901
that submarines were 'unfair and damned unEnglish'.11 Winston
Churchill, who was First Lord of the Admirality when the First
World War broke out, was similarly dismissive about submarine
tactics, stating: 'I do not believe this would ever be done by a
civilised power.'12 Submarines were therefore restricted to
supporting the surface fleets during the first stages of the war.
However, events in September 1914, including the sinking of
HMS Pathfinder by the submarine U21 and three more British
warships by the soontobeinfamous U9, helped bring about a
change of heart.13 Both Britain and Germany began to see
submarines as powerful weapons, and in addition to its blockade
of German ports, the Royal Navy went on to use submarines
extensively against the Central Powers. Many of them operated
out of Harwich.
III: 'Ruthless Pests'
After initial explorations into submarine warfare in 191415,
Germany rapidly increased the size of its Uboat fleet, reaching
over 350 operational vessels at its peak.14 In addition to naval
targets, these submarines were ordered to focus their efforts
against merchant ships carrying vital food and supplies. Britain's
Atlantic trade routes became perilous corridors, haunted by
predators playing what Rudyard Kipling called 'grisly blindfold
games'.15 At several stages the German authorities even declared
'unrestricted' submarine warfare, meaning Uboats were
permitted to attack neutral shipping and to ignore humanitarian
conventions protecting the merchant crews.
12,800,000 Tons of Allied and
neutral merchant shipping were
sunk duing the First World War
These tactics proved brutally effective. Uboats sank almost
900,000 tons of Allied and neutral shipping in April 1917 alone,
and 12.8 million tons during the entirety of the war. Nearly half
of these losses occurred in 1917, during the height of the
'unrestricted' Uboat campaign, and the vast majority of attacks
took place in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
However, Uboats also launched attacks as far away as the Black
Sea, the Arctic coast of Russia, West Africa, and the coast of the
United States—over 4,000 miles from German shores.16
Sinkings related to UBoat attacks around the British Isles. Each
dot represents an individual vessel sunk between 19141918.
The Royal Navy was initially unsure how to respond. Admiral
John Fisher felt that a 'Satanic' attitude would be required,
commenting: 'The British Empire and the German submarine
cannot coexist ... one or the other must shortly be destroyed.'17
One possible tactic was for merchant ships to ram Uboats when
they surfaced. Charles Fryatt, captain of the merchant ship SS
Brussels, became infamous in March 1915 when he tried to ram
the U33. The Admiralty awarded him a gold watch. Later, when
he was captured by the Germans, the watch was used as evidence
against him. He was executed on 27 July 1916, but his memory is
kept alive by the many landmarks named after him in Harwich,
where he grew up.18
Another method of fighting the Uboat threat was to lure them in
with armoured merchant vessels called 'Qships,' which would
then open fire with their concealed guns.19 Moreover, in April
1918 an attempt was made to raid and block one of the main
German Uboat bases at Zeebrugge in Belgium, but this was
unsuccessful.20
Much more effective in the long term was the Atlantic convoy
system introduced in May 1917.21 The Royal Navy organised
merchant ships into groups of around 10 to 50, accompanied by
naval ships. By grouping the ships together, providing them with
a means of defence, and taking unpredictable routes across the
Atlantic, convoys made it much more difficult for Uboats to find
targets—let alone sink them. In October 1918 the amount of
shipping lost to Uboats had fallen to 119,000 tons. Karl Dönitz, a
Uboat captain in the Atlantic and later Supreme Commander of
the German Navy during the Second World War, recalled of the
convoys:
The oceans at once became bare and empty; for longperiods of time the U-boat, operating individually,would see nothing at all; and then suddenly up wouldloom a huge concourse of ships, thirty or fifty ormore of them surrounded by a strong escort ofwarships of all types. The solitary U-boat, whichmost probably had sighted the convoy by chance,would then attack, thrusting again and again andpersisting, if the commander had strong nerves, forperhaps several days and nights, until the physicalexhaustion of both commander and crew called ahalt ... The convoy would steam on.22
IV: The Food War
People have fought over the production and transportation of
food since the dawn of organised conflict. For thousands of years
armies have tried to block the supply of food into cities with the
intention of 'starving out' the enemy, and in recent times navies
have been used for similar purposes. As previously mentioned,
the Royal Navy maintained a blockade on all German shipping
during the First World War, which contributed to widespread
malnutrition, rationing, and numerous food riots in Germany. It
also, however, led Uboat crews to feel a strong sense of
justification for sinking merchant ships headed for Britain. Franz
Becker, a Uboat commander in the Mediterranean, remembered:
At the beginning of the war, it was not easy for us tosink merchant ships, we preferred to attack warships... But, when we got home to Germany [to] see howthe country was blockaded, and how hungry ourpeople were, it made us realise we needed toconduct war against merchant ships.23
Britain was far more dependant than Germany on food imports to
meet its needs,24 with 78% of the country's wheat coming from
imports in 1914. Despite this, the country managed to avoid food
rationing until December 1917 by increasing the amount of land
used for agriculture, and by recruiting millions of people for
temporary farm work through organisations like the Women's
Land Army.25 These strategies were relatively successful, with
average calorie intakes remaining healthy,26 but for the final year
of the war staples like meat, milk, sugar, and bread were subject
to governmentissued coupons. The war effort could not continue
on an empty stomach, so governments on both sides launched
campaigns to convince their citizens to preserve food and sign up
for work in vital war industries.
British propaganda posters urged people to 'Save the Wheat and
Help the Fleet' (Poster 1) and asserted that 'The Kitchen is the
Key to Victory' (Poster 2). Others, like Poster 3, made a direct
analogy between Fryatt's ramming tactics and preserving food: a
mother is seen slicing bread at the table as a British ship rams a
Uboat in the background.
Poster 1. British wartime propaganda. © IWM
Poster 2. © IWM
Poster 3. © IWM
Meanwhile, propaganda film reels were also produced to attract
citizens to important war work, such as farming and shipbuilding.
One such film was Lord Pirrie's Appeal to Shipyard Workers,
screened in 1918. A still from this film is shown below.
Following the sinking of a merchant ship by a Uboat, the figure
of Death, wearing a German helmet, is seen looming over a
family at the dinner table to steal their daily bread. Films like this
were designed to emphasise the severity of the threat posed by
the Uboats, and to foster a spirit of collective struggle against
them.
Still from Lord Pirrie's Appeal to Shipyard Workers. © IWM
The Uboat fleet was an indispensable component in the German
war effort, providing a means to retaliate to Britain's naval
blockade. For a country experiencing hunger and hardship of its
own, the success of the Uboats in sinking British merchant ships
was a source of great pride.
However, in their enthusiasm to cause maximum damage through
periods of 'unrestricted' submarine warfare, Uboat commanders
unwittingly helped bring about Germany's eventual defeat in the
First World War.27 The sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, with
many American passengers on board, caused the diplomatic rift
between Germany and the United States to widen. Further attacks
on neutral ships in 1917 helped to bring the US into the war on
the side of the Allies.
The addition of American resources to the Allied war effort in
April 1917 tipped the balance decisively against Germany.
Although the Germans were never entirely 'defeated' on land or
sea, political leaders in Berlin judged that the war was a lost
V: Surrender
German propaganda poster, with each dot representing a successful
Uboat attack on British shipping.
cause and signed the Armistice agreement that came into effect
on 11 November 1918. As part of the terms for this agreement,
the German surface fleet was to be interned at the Orkney Islands
in northern Scotland, while the Uboat fleet was to be surrendered
to the Allies.
The surface fleet was scuttled (deliberately sunk) by its crews at
Scapa Flow before the internment could be completed,28 but the
Uboats were successfully handed over. The chosen destination
for the surrender was Harwich, which had served as one of the
main bases for the Royal Navy Submarine Service during the war
and was therefore wellequipped with personnel and facilities to
host large numbers of submarines. The first 20 began arriving at
the rendezvous point at 10am on 20 November 1918. Personnel
from the Submarine Service and the Harwich Force, under the
command of Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt, received the vessels at
the specified coordinates (Latitude 52°.05' North, Longitude
2°.05' East), 20 miles from British land.29
Upon reaching the rendezvous point the Uboats were then
boarded by crews from the Royal Navy. The Germans were asked
to show their British counterparts how the controls worked and to
confirm that 'no infernal machines or booby traps of any sort are
on board'. The German naval ensign was lowered, the British
white ensign was raised above it, and the boat would complete
the last leg of its journey into Harwich. The Germans would then
Departure ports for the surrendered German UBoats before their rendezvous off the
coast of Harwich.
board a transport ship and be taken to Germany. This process was
repeated twenty times over the next six months, with a total of
168 Uboats finding their way from various German and neutral
ports to Harwich.
Although the surrender of the Uboats was a momentous and
extraordinary occasion, Admiral Tyrwhitt—commander of the
Harwich Force and the man responsible for coordinating the
surrender—was determined that it would be conducted without
triumphant fanfare. A journalist from The Scotsman newspaper
recorded his impressions from the shores of Harwich on that first
day: 'The fog cleared away in the forenoon and those who were
fortunate enough to have the first view of the approaching fleet
were much impressed ... No sirens, whistles, or hooters were
permitted ... It was a silent entry into captivity.'30 The first
residents of Uboat Avenue had arrived—the last would come on
24 April 1919. At times, the line of anchored Uboats measured
around two miles in length.
Throughout this process, despite Admiral Tyrwhitt's insistence
that there would be 'no communication whatsoever' between the
British and the Germans apart from official business, there were
in practice numerous opportunities for personnel to exchange
words. The British Admiralty was fully aware that this would be a
'painful experience' for the Uboat crews, as indeed it proved to
be. One German captain declared: 'I hate you, and England ... We
have lost the war but I will fight again against you in the next
war.' Others were less hostile. A British officer aboard one of the
transport ships returning the crews to Germany reported that they
were 'silent and depressed' on the journey. In another
conversation, two Germans even asked 'to be allowed to remain
in England, where they could get food and work'.31
The British found the Germans and their ships to be
'exceptionally dirty,' but were surprised that their former enemies
did not conform to the vicious and canniving caricatures painted
in wartime propaganda. Commander Stephen KingHall, a
Lieutenant Blacklock, DSC demanding whereabouts of German submarine’s ensign
which suddenly vanished as British party came alongside. © IWM
veteran of the Battle of Jutland and a member of one of the
boarding parties during the surrender, wrote in his diary:
[T]he British parties were prepared for everyeventuality save one. We were not prepared to findthe Huns behaving for once as gentlemen. It is rightto record that during those wonderful days theirbehaviour has been correct in every respect. It maybe through fear of the consequences attending anypeevishness, it may be for some ulterior motive, thatthis has been so. I state the fact. In nearly every casethe German officer has seemed genuinely anxious toassist in every way possible.32
Most of the surrendered Uboats were researched or dismantled
in Britain, but 66 of them were distributed out to France, Italy,
Japan, and the United States, and many were paraded around
British ports to celebrate the end of the war. The UB91, for
Three Uboats during the surrender process, with crews waiting to be transported back
to Germany. © IWM
Ultim
atedes
tinatio
nsfo
rth
esu
rren
der
edUB
oats
example, toured the ports of South Wales after the surrender.33 Its
gun deck was presented to the town of Chepstow by King George
V, where it remains on public display.
The surrender, and the submarine war in general, had a far
reaching influence on future events. One important consequence
was the normalisation of submarine warfare, which has continued
to play a role in conflicts up to the present day. The Uboats also
forced Britain to recognise that the Royal Navy's mastery of the
seas was not to be taken for granted, and that being an island
nation did not guarantee safety. A documentary broadcast by the
BBC in 1964 noted that Britain, through its experience of the
First World War, 'had lost something that no Continental nation
had ever possessed: a centuriesold sense of immunity.'34
Meanwhile, the nature of Germany's capitulation caused deep
resentment among German soldiers and military leaders, who felt
betrayed by the Armistice and the politicians who signed it. Many
Uboat captains simply refused to partake in the surrender,
leaving their junior officers to do it instead. One captain, Martin
Niemöller, declared: 'I have neither sought nor concluded this
Armistice. As far as I am concerned, the people who promised
our submarines to England can take them over. I will not do it.'35
Niemöller promptly quit the navy, and was initially attracted by
the promise of the emergent National Socialist (Nazi) movement
to restore Germany to its former glory. He later recognised the
brutality and injustice of the Nazi 'Third Reich' and became one
of its most outspoken critics,36 but many others went on to
participate in the revival of Germany's military establishment in
the 1930s.
The Armistice and the Uboat surrender became major symbolic
catalysts for the Second World War in 193945, when Germany
would again deploy a massive Uboat fleet.37 Karl Dönitz, a U
boat captain in the First World War whose recollections were
quoted earlier in this booklet, was central to the reconstruction of
German submarine capabilities under Adolf Hitler. He became
Supreme Commander of the German Navy in 1943 and, as a
committed Nazi, was named by Hitler as one of his successors
following his suicide in April 1945. Dönitz's brief presidency saw
the Third Reich's surrender to the Allied Powers and, with it, a
permanent end to largescale German Uboat activity.38
VI: Official War Art and the Surrender
The arrival of 168 German Uboats into Harwich left a lasting
impression on those who witnessed it. However, like all military
activity during the war, visual representations of the surrender
were tightly controlled in line with the 1914 Defence of the
Realm Act. This effectively limited photographic and artistic
records to those approved by the British government—including
its collection of Official War Art.39
Francis Dodd, one of the first to be employed as an Official War
Artist,40 was aboard a British ship involved in the surrender
process on 20 November 1918. He witnessed the first Uboats
arriving at the rendezvous point and produced a series of sketches
portraying the moment. Uboat crews can be seen gathering on
top of their vessels, ready to be taken off and transported back to
Germany. The white ensign is hoisted above the German ensign,
signalling the end of the fleet's service to the Imperial German
Navy.
Ub
oat
under
British
flag
,by
Fra
ncisDodd.©
IWM
HM
SFired
rakeAppro
achin
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oatsan
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akin
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(Sto
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med
iately
).©
IWM
Ger
man
subm
arin
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ing,by
Fra
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IWM
Ger
man
Ub
oatsco
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vous,
by
Fra
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IWM
Once the Uboats were lined up in 'Uboat Avenue' they were
depicted in more intimate detail by Donald Maxwell (brother of
Gordon Maxwell, an officer during the surrender)41 in a series of
four watercolour paintings, labelled simply Morning, Noon,
Evening, and Night. There are no human figures in these scenes;
the boats are shown lifeless, in orderly rows; their menacing
auras dulled somewhat by their captivity. Many of them would
never sail again.
Although these artworks offer a breathtaking visual
representation of the surrender, they were not publicly displayed
in Harwich until 100 year later, in an exhibition designed by the
Harwich Haven: Surrender & Sanctuary project.
German crews waiting to be taken off, by Francis Dodd. © IWM
Morn
ing:Surren
der
edGer
man
Subm
arin
es,by
Donald
Max
well.
©IW
M
Noon,by
Donald
Max
well.
©IW
M
Even
ing,by
Donald
Max
well.
©IW
M
Nig
ht,
by
Donald
Max
well.
©IW
M
VII: Centenary
In November 2018 Britain and the world marked the passage of
100 years since the end of the First World War, with thousands of
commemorative events organised to reconnect people with
wartime stories from their local area. In Harwich, a series of
events was organised by a Heritage Lottery Funded project titled
Harwich Haven: Surrender & Sanctuary, remembering the pivotal
role the town played in the submarine war and the Uboat
surrender.
These events included an archive film show, a series of talks, a
number of heritage walks, and an art exhibition displaying the
works of Donald Maxwell and Francis Dodd from the surrender.
Deb Hart, a willow artist, was commissioned to create a 15metre
willow Uboat on Harwich beach, while schools, care homes, and
other community groups made 168 flags representing each of the
surrendered Uboats. On 18 November the flags were placed as
bunting on the completed willow vessel, with a spoken
commemoration delivered in the setting sun.
The Surrender & Sanctuary project sincerely hopes that these
events have helped to foster a lasting awareness of Harwich's role
in the submarine war, and that this booklet may spur its
readers—local or otherwise—to carry this unique heritage
forward with their own research and artistic creations.
VIII: List of Surrendered U-Boats
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
U 3 Mathy, Karl 01.12.1918 Great Britain
U 9 Nolda, Mark August 27.11.1918 Great Britain
U 19 Küper, Alfred 24.11.1918 Great Britain
U 22 Böhmer, Kurt 01.12.1918 Great Britain
U 24 Keller, Henry 22.11.1918 Great Britain
U 25 Schnelle, Ernst ? 23.02.1919 France
U 30 Becker, Walter 22.11.1918 Great Britain
U 33 Oehring, Hermann 16.01.1919 Great Britain
U 35 Kaiser, Wilhelm 27.11.1918 Great Britain
U 38 Polenz Hermann ? 23.02.1919 France
U 43 WilamowitzMoellendorf, 20.11.1918 Great Britain
Georg von
U 46 Hillebrand, Leo 27.11.1918 Japan
U 52 Joch, Friedrich Wilhelm 21.11.1918 Great Britain
U 53 Grattenauer, Friedrich 01.12.1918 Great Britain
Herman Alfred
U54 Plickert, Friedrich 24311.1918 Italy
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
U 55 Friedrich, Hans 27.11.1918 Japan
U 57 Stein, Walter 24.11.1918 France
U 60 Grünert, Franz 21.11.1918 Great Britain
U 62 Wagner, Andreas Richard 21.11.1918 Great Britain
U 63 Ciliax, Otto 16.01.1919 Great Britain
U 67 Petri, Woldemar 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 70 Born, Joachim 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 71 Howaldt, Hans ? 23.02.1919 France
U 79 Kuntze, Eberhard 21.11.1918 France
U 80 Stollenz, Georg 16.01.1919 Great Britain
U 82 Middendorf, Heinrich ? 16.01.1919 Great Britain
U 86 Wanach, Ernst 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 90 Jeß, Hermann Adolf Heinrich 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 91 Pistorius, Franz 27.11.1918 France
U 94 Schwab, Martin 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 96 Knoch, Karl 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 98 Strackerjan, Friedrich 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 100 Götting, Friedrich 21.11.1918 Great Britain
U 101 Ulrich, Friedrich 21.11.1918 Great Britain
U 105 Andler, Rudolf 20.11.1918 France
U 107 Siewert, Kurt 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 108 Nitzsche, Martin 20.11.1918 France
U 111 Beyersdorff, Hans 20.11.1918 USA
U 112 Kobbelt, Gerhard 22.11.1918 Great Britain
U 113 Recke, Philipp 20.11.1918 France
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
U 114 Wahn, Martin 27.11.1918 Italy
U 117 MeendsenBohlken, Wilhelm 21.11.1918 USA
U 118 Stohwasser, Herbert ? 23.02.1919 France
U 119 Koopmann, Karl 24.11.1918 France
U 120 Peters, Heinz 22.11.1918 Italy
U 121 Reiche, Curt von 09.03.1919 France
U 122 Klein, Herbert 27.11.1918 Great Britain
U 123 Thouret, Karl 22.11.1918 Great Britain
U 124 Carls, Rolf 01.12.1918 Great Britain
U 125 Weishaupt, Walter 27.11.1918 Japan
U 126 Behne, Adolf 22.11.1918 Great Britain
U 135 Spieß, Johannes 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 136 Vesper, Karl 23.02.1919 France
U 139 Pistor, Kurt 24.11.1918 France
U 140 Kophamel, Waldemar ? 23.02.1919 USA
U 141 Kolbe, Constantin 27.11.1918 Great Britain
U 151 Aschenborn, Ulrich 24.11.1918 France
U 152 Wille, Wilhelm 24.11.1918 Great Britain
U 153 Pastuszyk, Paul 24.11.1918 Great Britain
U 155 Studt, Ferdinand 24.11.1918 Great Britain
U 157 Beulwitz, Eugen von 08.02.1919 France
U 160 Nordmann, Karl 24.11.1918 France
U 161 Münch, Waldemar von 20.11.1918 Great Britain
U 162 Abendroth, KarlFriedrich von 20.11.1918 France
U 163 Metger, Hermann 22.11.1918 Italy
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
U 164 Hoppenstedt, Hans 22.11.1918 Great Britain
U 166 Fischer, Waldemar von 21.03.1919 France
U 167 Montigny, Cassius Freiherr von 18.04.1919 Great Britain
UA Burghardt, Curt Friedrich 24.11.1918 France
UB 6 Kohtz, Reinhold 25.02.1919 France
UB 21 Werth, Theodor 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 24 Rohlfs, Otto 24.11.1918 France
UB 25 Schnelle, Ernst 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 28 Senden, Marius van 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 34 Langenberger, Dietrich 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 49 Sachse, Erwin 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UB 50 Mühle, Walter 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UB 51 Boyer, Edo 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UB 60 Koch, Heinrich 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 62 Sperling, Günther 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 64 Rüdiger, Helmut 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 67 Lübke, Friedrich 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 73 Rosenbaum, Bruno 21.11.1918 France
UB 76 Ebel, Max 12.02.1919 Great Britain
UB 77 Steib, Hellmut 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UB 79 Vogel, Wilhelm 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 80 Viebeg, Max 27.11.1918 Italy
UB 84 Schubert, Fritz Georg 27.11.1918 France
UB 86 Trenk, Hans 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 87 Hesse, Alfred 20.11.1918 France
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
UB 88 Rabenau, Reinhardt von 27.11.1918 USA
UB 91 Hertwig, WolfHans 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 92 Böhm, Heinrich 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 93 Köllner, PaulWilhelm 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 94 Haumann, Waldemar 22.11.1918 France
UB 95 Hoff, Carl von 21.11.1918 Italy
UB 96 Krastel, Walter 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 97 Stollenz, Georg 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 98 Elias, Kurt 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 99 Förste, Erich 27.11.1918 France
UB 100 Friderici, Rolf 22.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 101 Beulwitz, Helmut von 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 102 Kramm, Martin 22.11.1918 Italy
UB 105 Hohenstein, Karl 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UB 106 Schmidt, Max 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 111 Schottky, Hans 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 112 Zapp, Paul 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 114 Berlin, Ernst 27.11.1918 France
UB 117 Waßner, Erwin 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 118 Krauß, Hermann Arthur 20.11.1918 France
UB 120 Plum, Richard 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 121 Schmidt, Albrecht 20.11.1918 France
UB 122 Irrgang, Martin 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 125 Roth, Hermann 20.11.1918 Japan
UB 126 Hencke, Kurt 24.11.1918 France
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
UB 128 Ziliahn, Kurt 03.02.1919 Great Britain
UB 130 Weber, Reinhard 27.11.1918 France
UB 131 Gädeke, Fritz 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 132 Zimmermann, Max 21.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 133 Maurer, Franz 20.04.1919 Great Britain
UB 136 Kersten, Joachim 16.04.1919 Great Britain
UB 142 Back, Werner 22.11.1918 France
UB 143 Althaus, Hermann 01.12.1918 Japan
UB 144 Jacobsen, Hans 28.03.1919 Great Britain
UB 145 Nolda, Mark August 27.03.1919 Great Britain
UB 148 Matthies, Wilhelm 01.12.1918 USA
UB 149 Jansa, Henning 22.11.1918 Great Britain
UB 150 Huchzermeier, Wilhelm 28.03.1919 Great Britain
UB 154 Senden, Marius van 10.03.1919 France
UB 155 Roth, Helmuth 09.03.1919 France
UC 17 Lyncker, Nicolaus Freiherr von 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 20 Patze, Friedrich 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UC 22 Schnelle, Ernst 03.02.1919 France
UC 27 Schelenz, Georg 03.02.1919 France
UC 28 Korn, Arthur 12.02.1919 France
UC 31 Stüben, Willy 27.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 45 Lamprecht, Fritz 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 52 Witte, Hellmuth 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UC 58 Dencher, August 24.11.1918 France
UC 59 Strasser, Walther 21.11.1918 Great Britain
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
UC 60 Schatteburg, Justus ? 3.02.1919 Great Britain
UC 67 Heimberg, Friedrich 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UC 73 Hagen, Franz 16.01.1919 Great Britain
UC 76 Hirsch, Karl 01.12.1918 Great Britain
UC 90 Wangenheim, Ernst 01.12.1918 Japan
Freiherr von
UC 92 Babel, Johannes 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 93 Bartholdy, Gottfried 27.11.1918 Italy
UC 94 Wunderlich, Friedrich 27.11.1918 Italy
UC 95 Reiche, Curt von 22.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 96 Steinbrück, Martin 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 97 Lange, Werner 22.11.1918 USA
UC 98 Oelrichs, Augustus 24.11.1918 Italy
UC 99 Weishun, Friedrich 22.11.1918 Japan
UC 100 Vahl, Siegfried 22.11.1918 France
UC 101 Becker, Ernst 24.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 102 Wauer, Walter 22.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 103 Gößel, Wilhelm 22.11.1918 France
UC 104 Mollmann, Gottfried 24.11.1918 France
UC 105 Kottas, Alfred 22.11.1918 Great Britain
UC 106 Schelenz, Georg 18.03.1919 Great Britain
UC 107 Schnelle, Ernst 18.03.1919 France
UC 108 Ziliahn, Kurt 18.03.1919 Great Britain
UC 109 Becker, Ernst 24.04.1919 Great Britain
UC 110 Dehio, Erhard 19.03.1919 Great Britain
Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate
U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination
UC 111 Loycke, Otto 28.03.1919 Great Britain
UC 112 Brinkhaus, Hermann 18.03.1919 Great Britain
UC 113 Ebel, Max 19.03.1919 Great Britain
UC 114 Aschenborn, Ulrich 18.03.1919 Great Britain
Notes
1. Stephen KingHall, A North Sea Diary, 19141918, (reprinted
2017), p. 230.
2. As described in the captions of official stereographic photographs
from the Uboat surrender—National Army Museum, NAM. 197208
672189 and NAM. 197208672188.
3. Gordon S. Maxwell, The Naval Front, (London, 1920), pp. 1902.
4. Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the coming
of the Great War, (London, 1992).
5. Richard Hough, The Great War at Sea 19141918, (Oxford, 1986),
pp. 21197.
6. Every Day Lives in War website, 'Food and the First World War in
Germany,' 29 April 2015.
7. Iain Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade: A History of Submarine Warfare
from Archimedes to the Present, (London, 2018), pp. 782.
8. Holger H. Herwig, “Luxury” Fleet: The Imperial German Navy
18881918, (Abington, 1980).
9. Lowell Thomas, Raiders of the Deep, (Penzance, 2002), p. 84.
10. Jan S. Breemer, Defeating the Uboat: Inventing Antisubmarine
Warfare, (Newport [RI], 2010), pp. 524.
11. Commander Jeff Tall, 'The history of the royal navy submarine
service,' The RUSI Journal, 146, (2001), p. 41.
12. Christopher M. Bell, Churchill & Sea Power, (Oxford, 2013),
p. 42.
13. Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade, pp. 859.
14. R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine
War 19141918, (London, 2003).
15. 'The Trade,' a poem by Rudyard Kipling on the submarine war.
16. Smithsonian Magazine website, 'This Map Shows the Full Extent
of the Devastation Wrought by UBoats in World War I,' 7 May 2015.
17. Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade, chapter 11.
18. BBC News website, 'Charles Fryatt: The man executed for
ramming a UBoat,' 16 July 2016.
19. Deborah Lake, Smoke and Mirrors: QShips against the UBoats in
the First World War, (Cheltenham, 2006).
20. Alfred F. B. Carpenter and Arthur H. Pollen, Trap the Uboats! The
Zeebrugge Raid, (2015).
21. William Sims, The Victory at Sea: The Allied Campaign Against
UBoats During the First World War 191718, (2012).
22. Lisle A. Rose, Power at Sea: The Age of Navalism, 18901918,
(Columbia [MO], 2006), p. 276.
23. Imperial War Museum website, 'Voices of the First World War: The
Submarine War,' 5 June 2018.
24. P. E. Dewey, 'Food production and policy in the United Kingdom,
19141918,' Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 30, (1980),
pp. 7189.
25. Bonnie White, The Women's Land Army in First World War
Britain, (Basingstoke, 2014).
26. Ian Gazeley and Andrew Newell, 'The First World War and
workingclass food consumption in Britain,' European Review of
Economic History, 17, (2013), pp. 7194.
27. Mark D. Karau, Germany's Defeat in the First World War: The
Lost Battles and Reckless Gambles that Brought Down the Second
Reich, (Santa Barbara, 2015), pp. 11544.
28. Dan van der Vat, The Grand Scuttle: The sinking of the German
fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919, (London, 1982).
29. Admiralty arrangements for, and reports from, the surrender of the
German submarines—The National Archives, ADM 137/2483.
30. The Scotsman newspaper, 'Naval Surrender. Coming of the U
boats. First 20 at Harwich. Dejected German Officers,' 21 November
1918.
31. Ibid.
32. Stephen KingHall, North Sea Diary, p. 232.
33. Search online for 'Uboat Project Wales'.
34. Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade.
35. Theodore S. Hamerow and G. P. Gooch, On the Road to the Wolf's
Lair: German Resistance to Hitler, (Cambridge [MA], 1997), p. 41.
36. Matthew D. Hockenos, Then They Came for Me: Martin
Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis, (New York, 2018).
37. Gerhard L. Weinberg, AWorld at Arms: A Global History of World
War II, (Cambridge, 1994), pp. 364407.
38. Barry Turner, Karl Doenitz and the Last Days of the Third Reich,
(London, 2015).
39. James Fox, British Art and the First World War, 19141924,
(Cambridge, 2015).
40. A short biography of Francis Dodd can be found in MaryAnne
Stevens [ed.], The Edwardians and After: The Royal Academy 1900
1950, (London, 1988), p. 82.
41. Michael Ffinch, Donald Maxwell, (Kendal, 1995).
Bibliography and Further Reading
General books and articles
John Abbatiello, Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British
Naval Aviation and the Defeat of the U-Boats, (London: Routledge,
2005).
Iain Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade: A History ofSubmarine Warfare
from Archimedes to the Present, (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
2018).
BBC News website, Charles Fryatt: The man executed for ramming a
UBoat,' 16 July 2016.
Christopher M. Bell, Churchill & Sea Power, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2013).
Jan S. Breemer, Defeating the U-boat: Inventing Antisubmarine
Warfare, (Newport [RI]: Naval War College Press, 2010).
Alfred F. B. Carpenter and Arthur H. Pollen, Trap the U-boats! The
Zeebrugge Raid, (republished by Leonaur, 2015).
P. E. Dewey, 'Food production and policy in the United Kingdom,
19141918,' Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 30, (1980),
pp. 7189.
Everyday Lives in War website, 'Food and the First World War in
Germany,' 29 April 2015.
Ian Gazeley and Andrew Newell, 'The First World War and working
class food consumption in Britain,' European Review ofEconomic
History, 17, (2013), pp. 7194.
R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine War
1914-1918, (London: Naval & Military Press, 2003).
Edwyn A. Gray, The U-Boat War, 1914–1918 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword
Books, 1994).
Theodore S. Hamerow and G. P. Gooch, On the Road to the Wolf's
Lair: German Resistance to Hitler, (Cambridge [MA]: Harvard
University Press, 1997).
Holger H. Herwig, “Luxury” Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-
1918, (Abington: Routledge, 1980).
Matthew D. Hockenos, Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the
Pastor Who Defied the Nazis, (New York: Basic Books, 2018).
Richard Hough, The Great War at Sea 1914-1918, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1986).
Mark D. Karau, Germany's Defeat in the First World War: The Lost
Battles and Reckless Gambles that Brought Down the Second Reich,
(Santa Barbara: ABCCLIO, 2015).
Hans Joachim Koerver, German Submarine Warfare 1914–1918 in the
Eyes ofBritish Intelligence, (Steinbach: LIS Reinisch, 2010).
Deborah Lake, Smoke and Mirrors: Q-Ships against the U-Boats in
the First World War, (Cheltenham: The History Press, 2006).
Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the coming of
the Great War, (London: Jonathan Cape, 1992).
Eberhard Möller and Werner Brack, The Encyclopedia ofU-Boats:
From 1904 to the Present, (London: Greenhill Books, 2006).
National Farmer's Union, The Few that Fed the Many, available via
NFU website (https://www.nfuonline.com/aboutus/historyofthe
nfu/farmingandthefirstworldwar/).
Lisle A. Rose, Power at Sea: The Age ofNavalism, 1890-1918,
(Columbia [MO]: University of Missouri Press, 2006)
Jak Mallmann Showell, The U-boat Century: German Submarine
Warfare, 1906–2006, (Barnsley: Chatham Publishing, 2006).
William Sims, The Victory at Sea: The Allied Campaign Against U-
Boats During the First World War 1917-18, (republished by Leonaur,
2012).
Commander Jeff Tall, 'The history of the royal navy submarine
service,' The RUSI Journal, 146, (2001), pp. 4145.
V. E. Tarrant, The U-boat Offensive 1914-1945, (Annapolis [MD]:
Naval Institute Press, 1989).
Thomas Termote,War Beneath the Waves: U-boat Flotilla in Flanders
1915-1918, (Uniform Press, 2017).
Barry Turner, Karl Doenitz and the Last Days of the Third Reich,
(London: Icon Books, 2015).
Dan van der Vat, The Grand Scuttle: The sinking of the German fleet
at Scapa Flow in 1919, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1982).
Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World at Arms: A Global History ofWorld
War II, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Bonnie White, The Women's Land Army in First World War Britain,
(Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
The submarine war: collections of first-hand accounts
Imperial War Museum website, 'Voices of the First World War: The
Submarine War,' 5 June 2018.
Lowell Thomas, Raiders of the Deep, (Penzance: Periscope
Publishing, 2002).
Julian Thompson, The Imperial War Museum Book of the War at Sea
1914-1918, (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 2005).
Official War Artists and the surrender
Francis Dodd, Admirals of the British Navy, (republished by Lector
House, 2019).
Michael Ffinch, Donald Maxwell, (Kendal: The Maxwell Estate,
1995).
James Fox, British Art and the First World War, 1914-1924,
(Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 2015).
MaryAnne Stevens [ed.], The Edwardians and After: The Royal
Academy 1900-1950, (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1988),
biography of Francis Dodd on p. 82.
The surrender: first-hand accounts and documents
Admiralty arrangements for, and reports from, the surrender of the
German submarines—The National Archives, ADM 137/2483.
Stephen KingHall, A North Sea Diary, 1914-1918, (reprtined by
Andesite Press, 2017).
Gordon S. Maxwell, The Naval Front, (London: A & C. Black, 1920).
The Scotsman newspaper, 'Naval Surrender. Coming of the Uboats.
First 20 at Harwich. Dejected German Officers,' 21 November 1918.
Admiral Tyrwhitt, diaries, 30 December 1917 to 19 April 1919—The
National Archives, ADM 137/343.
Online resources
For general information on Uboats during both the First and Second
World Wars, see: https://uboat.net/
The Deutsches UBootMuseum (German Uboat Museum) website
contains many useful resources in English: http://dubm.de/en/
Images relating to the Uboats and the surrender can be found on the
Imperial War Museum website: https://www.iwm.org.uk/
Uboat Project Wales produces resources relating to the Welsh
experience of the submarine war: https://uboatproject.wales/