SECOND WORLD WAR | ROYAL NAVY
In the opening weeks of the Second World War, one British submarine commander found himself in a desperate situation. John Ash details the narrow escape of HMS Spearfish and her crew.
Commander John Henry Eaden was born on 23 February 1910 in Dominica, then part of the British West Indies. His father worked on the lime, sugar cane and banana plantations that he owned there. After education in England, Eaden applied for and got into Britannia Royal Naval College, aged just 13.
This was where he wanted to be. In later life he reflected on his desire to travel and the prestige of the Royal Navy being a draw. A naval career, he surmised, was a ‘good start’. It would also be busy, as Eaden had a lengthy wartime career. However, when the war was literally moments old, Eaden unexpectedly became the first British submarine commander to make contact with the enemy.
On 3 September 1939 Eaden was on patrol, in command of the HMS Spearfish. The S-class submarine had been commissioned into the Royal Navy just over three years before and was one of the original 12 S-class boats. The class was designed as a smaller submarine than other types, to be operated…
