A SPECIAL ceremony will be held at Faslane Cemetery this Sunday to honour 32 submariners who drowned 100 years ago in the K-13 submarine disaster in the Gareloch.

The steam-propelled submarine sank in the Gareloch on January 29, 1917 after sea water entered her engine room during her sea trials. All those in the engine room were killed.

The event is organised by the Submariners Association and held every year at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery.

During the event on Sunday, January 29, submariners past and present will gather to pay their respects, along with CWGC representatives, submariners from HM Naval Base Clyde, the home of the UK submarine service, and the Submariners Association.

The group will attend the service at Faslane Cemetery, Garelochhead, adjacent to HM Naval Base Clyde, for a formal wreath-laying ceremony.

Colin Kerr, director of external relations for CWGC, said: “CWGC has looked after the graves of the men of the K-13 for a hundred years. This is what we do. It is very important to us that attention is still paid to these men and that their graves are visited and their lives remembered.”

Jim McMaster, chairman of the Submariners Association, added: “It is natural that we commemorate those 32 unfortunate men who died in this accident but we should not lose sight of the fact that this was also a very successful submarine rescue for 48 men. Even by today’s standard this is a major achievement.”

Rear Admiral John Weale, head of the UK’s submarine service, said: “The men who perished in K-13 were, in many respects, pioneers.

“Today’s submariners recognise that the submarines they operate are not only safer, but also more effective, because we have learned from the experience of our predecessors.

“In this respect, the special bravery, ethos and comradeship of submariners and the submarine service endures.”

There were 80 men in total on board K13 on the day of the tragedy – 53 crew, 14 employees of a Govan ship builder, five Admiralty officials, a pilot and the captain and engineer of sister submarine K-14.

The captain of the vessel, Lieutenant Commander Godfrey Herbert, and K-14’s captain, Commander Francis Goodhart, attempted to escape from the submarine, hoping to reach the surface in order to use their expert knowledge of the vessel to help the rescue.

The brave pair planned to use the space between the inner and outer hatches as an airlock, but only Herbert made it to the surface alive.

Goodhart sadly died after being struck on the head whilst escaping, and was found trapped in the superstructure of the submarine.

The ordeal for those trapped didn’t end until some 57 hours later when an airline was attached, allowing the submarine to bring her bow to the surface.

A hole was cut in the side of the vessel allowing the 48 survivors to be rescued.

K-13 was raised from the Gareloch in March 1917 and returned to service as HMS K22.

Sunday’s commemoration will end with a march to the grave of Commander Goodhart, and individual crosses will be available for those wishing to pay their respects.

* For more on K-13, including second account of the tragedy which was relatively unknown until very recently, see ‘Eye on Millig’ on page 30 of this week’s

issue.