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batteries lying on the surface in full moonlight, under the guns of the enemy. As he could not see his target, he waited several hours and attacked in full daylight in a glassy calm. When he had fired his torpedoes he was heavily counter-attacked and had to withdraw through a long channel with anti-submarine craft all round and continuous air patrols overhead.
490:
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For valour in command of H.M. Submarine Torbay in a daring and successful raid on shipping in a defended enemy harbour, planned with full knowledge of the great hazards to be expected during seventeen hours in waters closely patrolled by the enemy. On arriving in the harbour, he had to charge his
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published his autobiography, in which he describes "a submarine atrocity" on the night of 9 July 1941, which gave rise to the accusation of 'war crimes'. According to the accounts, on two separate occasions Miers ordered the machine-gunning of several shipwrecked German soldiers in rafts who had
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approached undetected up the channel and remained on the surface charging her battery. The convoy passed straight through the channel but on the morning of the 5 March, in glassy sea conditions, Miers successfully attacked two store ships present in the roadstead and then brought
630:, the incident was one of several instances of the Royal Navy sinking Greek ships believed to be transporting German soldiers and then firing on survivors in the water or in lifeboats. All reports of such incidents were investigated by the Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, which collected
612:
wrote to the
Admiralty about the possibility of German reprisals: "As far as I am aware, the enemy has not made a habit of firing on personnel in the water or on rafts even when such personnel were members of the fighting services; since the incidents referred to in
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Paul
Chapman who reported "everything and everybody was destroyed by one sort of gunfire or another". Miers also made no attempt to conceal his actions, his patrol log recording: "Submarine cast off, and with the
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report, he may feel justified in doing so." The
Admiralty then sent a strongly worded letter to Miers advising him not to repeat the practices of his last patrol.
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accounted for the soldiers in the rubber raft to prevent them from regaining their ship..." When informed of Miers' actions, Flag
Officer Submarines, Admiral
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began its first patrol in March 1941. The submarine left at very short notice, with half the crew on leave and replaced by members of the spare crew of the
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Miers remained in the navy after the war, and was promoted to captain in
December 1946. He was commanding officer of the naval establishments
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safely back to the open sea. The submarine endured 40 depth charges and had been in closely patrolled enemy waters for seventeen hours.
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From
December 1942 Miers served as submarine liaison officer to the American Pacific Fleet, and was later made a commander of the US
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and, since they had been too far distant for him to attack initially, he decided to follow in the hope of catching them in
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Miers served for many years as the national president of the
Submarine Old Comrades' Association. He died at his home in
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and the Royal Navy wanted them shadowed in case they sailed for the
Atlantic sea lanes. The submarine later continued to
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as a special entry cadet and volunteered for the submarine service in 1929. He could be hot-tempered, and in 1933 was
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off the Greek coast on the 4 March 1942, Miers sighted a northbound convoy of four troopships entering the
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from surviving German and Greek witnesses supporting
Kennedy's claims regarding the incident.
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333:, Scotland, the son of an army captain killed in the First World War, Miers was educated at
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in March 1942 saw the incident which earned him the VC. Whilst on patrol in
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Gamp VC: The
Wartime story of Maverick Submarine Commander Anthony Miers
811:
Gamp VC: The Wartime story of Maverick Submarine Commander Anthony Miers
489:
417: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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his first submarine command (1936–7). He then served in the battleship
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s third war patrol was in the northern Aegean Sea. On 28 May 1941,
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with gunfire, then torpedoed and damaged the Vichy French tanker
1046:"Grave Location for Holders of the Victoria Cross in: Scotland"
386:
637:
By now, Miers had carried out nine successful patrols in HMS
769:, until his retirement in August 1959. He was appointed a
321:, including the shooting of seven Germans in a life raft.
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His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the
497:
In November 1940 Miers was given command of HM Submarine
1003:. The Submariners Association (Barrow-in-Furness). 1997
295:
officer who served in the submarine service during the
1172:
Silent Marauders: British Submarines in Two World Wars
705:. From July 1944 he was Commander (Submarines) of the
1291:
British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross
599:. These events were witnessed and reported by acting
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jumped overboard when their vessels were sunk by the
1306:
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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for a year from 9 December 1954. He was promoted to
687:
Commander Anthony Cecil Capel Miers DSO, Royal Navy:
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Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
590:In 1989 former Royal Naval officer and broadcaster
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Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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40:
21:
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750:and the 1st submarine squadron (1950–52), and the
1331:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
997:"Lieutenant Commander Anthony Cecil Capel Miers"
685:
641:in the Mediterranean theatre, had received the
1222:British VCs of World War 2: A Study in Heroism
1356:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
917:(paperback ed.). London: Fontana Press.
310:forces. He was allegedly responsible for two
8:
1265:The Papers of Rear-Admiral Sir Anthony Miers
879:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
754:(1952–4). He commanded the aircraft carrier
283:(11 November 1906 – 30 June 1985), known as
1361:People educated at Stubbington House School
1351:Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross
792:, Scotland, in the Roman Catholic Section.
784:, London, on 30 June 1985. He is buried at
979:The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939–1945
627:The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939–1945
29:
18:
1311:Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit
1194:: Victoria Cross Monuments and Headstones
477:Learn how and when to remove this message
1155:(Supplement). 5 June 1959. p. 3702.
1135:(Supplement). 3 June 1958. p. 3513.
1076:(Supplement). 24 May 1946. p. 2560.
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1031:(Supplement). 3 July 1942. p. 2983.
357:. Miers' career however continued, with
938:Forsyth, Frederick (18 December 2009).
876:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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557:On 27 April 1941, while on patrol off
569:fired two torpedoes but both missed.
513:though no serious damage was caused.
7:
1366:People educated at Edinburgh Academy
415:adding citations to reliable sources
1326:Royal Navy officers of World War II
1301:Companions of the Order of the Bath
665:. During the night 4/5 March,
523:, the reason being that the German
1231:The Register of the Victoria Cross
771:Companion of the Order of the Bath
222:Companion of the Order of the Bath
16:World War II Victoria Cross winner
14:
1341:Military personnel from Inverness
1115:. 21 February 1956. p. 1071.
505:collided with the British tanker
870:"Miers, Sir Anthony Cecil Capel"
391:
155:1st Submarine Flotilla (1950–52)
1321:Royal Navy submarine commanders
402:needs additional citations for
1091:(paperback ed.). London:
1052:. Iain Stewart. Archived from
964:Padfield:"War Beneath the Sea"
867:Compton-Hall, Richard (2004).
752:Royal Naval College, Greenwich
151:Royal Naval College, Greenwich
1:
302:Miers was a recipient of the
250:Sir Anthony Cecil Capel Miers
984:University of Nebraska Press
900:UK public library membership
765:in January 1956, and became
314:incidents, while commanding
1296:British World War II crimes
1241:Scotland's Forgotten Valour
1234:. This England Books. 1997.
1196:. Kevin & Kay Patience.
940:"War Hero or War Criminal?"
835:"War Hero or War Criminal?"
643:Distinguished Service Order
226:Distinguished Service Order
1382:
1269:Churchill Archives Centre
1174:. Hart-Davis, MacGibbon.
913:Kennedy, Ludovic (1990).
767:Flag Officer, Middle East
709:in the Far East based at
138:Flag Officer, Middle East
28:
1316:Royal Navy rear admirals
1286:Scottish naval personnel
1224:. Sutton Publishing Ltd.
375:(1939–40), where he was
345:. In 1924 he joined the
335:Stubbington House School
1087:Young, Edward (1954) .
974:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
622:Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
620:According to historian
377:mentioned in despatches
234:Mentioned in Despatches
1201:Izzard, Brian (2009).
1189:Harvey, David (1999).
1170:Cooke, Graeme (1976).
885:10.1093/ref:odnb/31444
809:Izzard, Brian (2009).
713:, Sri Lanka and later
707:8th Submarine Flotilla
692:
552:1st Submarine Flotilla
494:
1239:Ross, Graham (1995).
1220:Laffin, John (1997).
1205:. Haynes Publishing.
1089:One Of Our Submarines
915:On My Way to the Club
813:. Haynes Publishing.
492:
116:Years of service
1192:Monuments to Courage
1095:. pp. 219, 293.
786:Tomnahurich Cemetery
677:The citation in the
550:, Egypt to join the
501:. While working up,
411:improve this article
88:Tomnahurich Cemetery
1056:on 28 October 2004.
743:station (1948–50),
696:Imperial War Museum
659:South Corfu Channel
78:Inverness, Scotland
1152:The London Gazette
1132:The London Gazette
1112:The London Gazette
1073:The London Gazette
1050:The Victoria Cross
1028:The London Gazette
773:(CB) in 1958, and
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493:HMS Torbay in 1943
343:Wellington College
1243:. MacLean Press.
1212:978-1-84425-725-6
898:(Subscription or
841:. 6 February 1989
839:Los Angeles Times
820:978-1-84425-725-6
624:in his 1979 work
587:off Cape Hellas.
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948:. Retrieved
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888:. Retrieved
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843:. Retrieved
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763:rear admiral
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409:Please help
404:verification
401:
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337:in Gosport,
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317:
308:Commonwealth
301:
288:
285:"Crap Miers"
284:
249:
247:Rear Admiral
245:
200:Battles/wars
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128:Rear Admiral
74:(1985-06-30)
72:30 June 1985
1346:1985 deaths
1336:1906 births
1147:"No. 41727"
1127:"No. 41404"
1107:"No. 40715"
1068:"No. 37582"
1023:"No. 35622"
950:26 November
890:25 November
845:26 November
711:Trincomalee
632:depositions
529:Scharnhorst
525:battleships
383:War service
90:, Inverness
41:Nickname(s)
1280:Categories
1164:References
924:0006370799
902:required.)
782:Roehampton
698:, London.
610:Max Horton
548:Alexandria
521:depot ship
437:newspapers
373:Home Fleet
347:Royal Navy
325:Early life
293:Royal Navy
110:Royal Navy
96:Allegiance
64:, Scotland
55:1906-11-11
44:Crap Miers
790:Inverness
756:HMS
745:HMS
732:and then
727:HMS
715:Fremantle
606:Lewis gun
544:Gibraltar
535:Gneisenau
511:Loch Long
507:Vancouver
368:Iron Duke
366:HMS
359:HMS
331:Inverness
316:HMS
312:war crime
195:(1936–37)
190:HMS
187:(1940–42)
182:HMS
174:HMS
171:(1948–50)
163:(1950–52)
158:HMS
153:(1952–54)
148:(1954–55)
143:HMS
140:(1956–59)
119:1924–1959
62:Inverness
1267:held at
982:(1979),
736:Blackcap
721:Post war
615:Torbay's
291:, was a
168:Blackcap
134:Commands
104:Service/
1001:RN Subs
758:Theseus
585:Alberta
581:caiques
573:Torbay'
546:, then
451:scholar
145:Theseus
1247:
1209:
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1007:13 May
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729:Vernon
683:read:
672:Torbay
667:Torbay
655:Torbay
651:Torbay
639:Torbay
597:Torbay
577:Torbay
567:Torbay
517:Torbay
503:Torbay
499:Torbay
453:
446:
439:
432:
424:
355:rating
341:, and
318:Torbay
289:"Gamp"
278:&
228:&
210:Awards
184:Torbay
179:(1946)
176:Vernon
106:branch
83:Buried
796:Notes
747:Forth
540:Brest
458:JSTOR
444:books
274:
272:,
267:
265:,
260:
258:,
160:Forth
1245:ISBN
1207:ISBN
1176:ISBN
1009:2016
952:2021
919:ISBN
892:2021
847:2021
815:ISBN
739:, a
734:HMS
645:and
532:and
430:news
287:and
166:HMS
124:Rank
69:Died
49:Born
881:doi
647:Bar
563:GRT
509:in
413:by
361:L54
280:Bar
276:DSO
262:KBE
230:Bar
192:L54
1282::
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252:,
1253:.
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455:·
448:·
441:·
434:·
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57:)
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