John Gaimes

Lieutenant-Commander John Austin Gaimes, DSO, was a submarine commander for the Royal Navy. He died in January 1921, at the age of 33, when the HMS "K5" sank with the loss of all hands.

History of service

* 1901, posted to Britannia.
* Served as second-in-command of the destroyer HMS "Syren" for a year.
* Volunteered for British submarine command in 1908, appointed January 1909.
* Served on the C-class submarines.
* Appointed command of HMS "A9" on 5 October 1911.
* A year later, appointed command of HMS "B9".
* March 1913, captained HMS "C37" in Hong Kong.
* 10 April 1917, commanded submarine in Harwich flotilla.
* Located the secret Heligoland passage, marked out by buoys for German warships to follow.
* June 1918, awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for war services.
* After World War I, commanded submarines attached to depot ship HMS "Dolphin" at Portsmouth.
* November 1919, appointed to cruiser HMS "Inconstant" for steam-driven vessels of the K-class in the First Flotilla.
* 1 April 1920, appointed command of HMS "K5".

References

"The Lost Commander". (24 January 1921). "The Times", p. 12.