HL Deb 06 June 1939 vol 113 cc243-6

4.20 p.m.

LORD STRABOLGI

My Lords, before asking the First Lord of the Admiralty a question about the sinking of His Majesty's Submarine "Thetis," of which I have given private notice, may I be allowed to express on behalf of the Opposition our sympathy with the relatives of the gallant officers and men on board? I beg leave to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if he has any statement to make about the sinking of His Majesty's Submarine "Thetis."

THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (EARL STANHOPE)

My Lords, I cannot add much to the long statement which was made in the House of Commons yesterday by the Prime Minister. I imagine that your Lordships have read that statement and would not wish me to repeat it to this House. I happened myself to be at Devonport at the time that the accident occurred, and therefore was in very close touch with the Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, who was responsible for initiating the action which is always taken if a submarine does not surface soon after she is due to do so. As the House is aware, Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith is a very distinguished submarine officer. I know that he took immediate action, and that nothing was left undone or was deferred which, with the knowledge that we then had, was considered advisable.

I do not, of course, wish to prejudge the full public inquiry which is to be held, but I should like to make two matters clear in regard to the difficulties with which the divers were faced and which I think have not been fully appreciated by the public. The first was the strength of the tides which have made it extremely difficult for the divers to keep their feet under water except during the short slack periods between tides. The second was the difficulty caused by the sharp inclination of the submarine herself which made any foothold on her smooth sides or deck well nigh impossible. It was, I feel, those two factors which caused what appeared to be no more than a serious mishap to become so great a disaster. The loss of a new ship is a catastrophe, but far greater is the loss of so many valuable lives, many of them with great expert knowledge.

From the reports of the survivors, who I am glad to say are progressing favourably and are no longer under hospital treatment, it is evident that the bearing of the officers and men in the submarine during the terrible period from the time of the accident was of the highest order and in accordance with the best traditions of the Service. The behaviour of all the civilians on board was of an equally high standard. I should also like to say how deeply the whole country has been moved by the heroic behaviour of the relatives of those who were in the "Thetis." No words of mine can convey adequately the sympathy which this House and the nation feel for them in their sorrow and deep distress, a sympathy which has been enhanced by the courage and self control which they have shown.

The latest information that I can give to the House is that the camels have now been secured to the "Thetis" by a 3½inch wire to the bullring at the stern of the submarine and by another wire to her bow cable, and three of the lifting wires have been placed under the submarine. If the fine weather continues it is considered possible that a trial lift may be made in about forty-eight hours.

LORD STRABOLGI

My Lords, in thanking the First Lord of the Admiralty for his reply, and arising out of it, may I ask whether we may presume that the noble Earl realises the importance of the inquiry being pressed on as soon as circumstances permit in view of the rumours in circulation, some of which are obviously inaccurate?

EARL STANHOPE

My Lords, His Majesty's Government fully recognise the importance of proceeding as soon as possible with the public inquiry. The Admiralty inquiry is, I think, already under way, but as your Lordships will no doubt appreciate it will not be possible to get full evidence until we have salved the "Thetis." Therefore I am not quite sure how soon the public inquiry will start. Arrangements are already in hand, however, to approach the individuals who will sit on the inquiry.

THE MARQUESS OF CREWE

My Lords, may I acid a few words on behalf of those who sit on these Benches? I think we must all feel that this is one more proof of the fact that the inventions and discoveries of science for the time continue to outstrip all the precautions that can be devised to counter the dangers which these discoveries involve. That is equally true whether any particular disaster is due to human carelessness or human fallibility or to the inexorable forces of nature. We see continued proof of that in the Air Service, on the high roads and now in this supreme disaster to the "Thetis." All the conditions of national defence in warfare are completely changed since the days of Rodney and Nelson, but it is as true now as it was then that the British Navy holds the first place among all the Services in the hearts of the British people. For that reason I think there is no home in the country that does not wish to share, so far as it can, in the sorrow that has stricken those bereaved homes which are in all our thoughts. To them our deepest sympathy goes out, and it also goes out to the whole Navy—which is the most brotherly of all the public Services—to the Board of Admiralty, and in this House particularly, to my noble friend the First Lord of the Admiralty, because those of us who have to do with politics know that a disaster of this kind when it strikes a great Department falls with special bitterness upon its political head even when, as in this case, he has in no sense responsibility for it and could have done nothing to avert it. I am quite sure that the inquiry which is to be held—and I join with the noble Lord, Lord Strabolgi, in the hope that it may not be deferred longer than is necessary—will clear up all the relevant issues which may be in doubt at this moment. The nation has a claim to ask that because it is a national loss.

EARL STANHOPE

My Lords, may I in a few words thank the noble Lord opposite for the kind words which he spoke on behalf of the Opposition and my noble friend the Marquess of Crewe for the more than kind words he has said on behalf of the Navy and the words he used about me personally? A disaster such as this is, of course, a great shock to everybody in the Naval Service. Several of those on board the "Thetis" were working with us in the Admiralty and were great friends of many of us. We appreciate their qualities and we know what the country has lost by their death. The shock to the whole country has been such that my Department is inundated with expressions of sympathy from all quarters and from all classes, and I feel sure that the words that have been used in your Lordships' House to-day are a true expression of the national feeling.