Introduction

This site is in rememberance of my late father George
Davison's service on the HMS Thrasher. He was a
Chief petty Officer/ Wireless operator on submarines
throughout the Second World War. Prior to this he
served with the Fleet Air Arm, on the carriers HMS
Ark Royal and Glorious. In 1946/47 he was seconded
by the Australian Inteligence Service and worked in
Queanbeyan, Pearce, Exmouth, Fremantle, Sydney,
Canberra and many other mainland locations.

I have found bits and pieces of his war records,
plus information from a number of helpful
websites, including 'History of the Royal Navy'.
The images and text on this site is to serve as
a reminder of not only George, but the period in
which he served. This period of his life changed
him forever. like so many returned servicemen
it affected him until he passed away. Serving
in a submarine for 7 years, through a war,
knowing that every day could well be your last.
Then it all stopped and there were no more depth
charges, no more sinkings, no more hunting, no
more 57 day patrols. Unfortunately for George
and so many survivors, they did not stop.



It was something that he could never shake off. This
site to me, is a way of understanding something of
what he and thousands like him, went through.
Top


The link between Crete & Western Australia

I had no idea as to the extent of what the Thrasher
did during its wartime service. My father told me tales
of what happened, but as usual for a teenager, the
information went in one ear and out the other. I do
remember though, feeling very proud that my Dad
was a submariner.
It was not until a few weeks ago, that I used Google
to search for the Thrasher, due to a book on the
Australian Submarine Force, that I am working on,
that I came across the story of the Preveli resuce
on Crete.

Now, two unrelated (to me) locations began to make
sense. First; I happened to photograph the Monestary at
Preveli back in 1993 for a book I was doing for
Berlitz on Crete. I was overly fascinated by the place.

Two; I have lived in Western Australia now for 7 years,
every year we all go down to Margaret River (3 hours
drive from Perth). Here at a small beach village called
Prevelly, there is a Greek Orthodox Church, (St John
the Theologian Chape) why I used to wonder? why is
there one here? I used to look at it as if it meant
something but never pursed this line.

This church was inspired and built by an Australian
serviceman, Geoff Edwards, who was rescued from
the German held Island of Crete, along with 70 others,
at 1.00 in the morning from under the noses of the
occupying German forces. This took place at Limni
Beach, a short distance from the Monastery.

This bold, clandestine resuce was by the crew of a
British submarine, HMS Thrasher! Geoff Edwards built
the church with help from the Greek people of Crete, in
rememberance of their plight during the war, and for the
gallant rescue.

I had been to both locations and never knew that my
father and his submarine were linked to them both.
Not only that, George was posted to Fremantle in
Western Australia in 1944. Did I know about this
when I moved here for the first time in 1978? not
a clue. Reading through his war records, he says
"Perth is my favourite city.."

Geoff built the church in Prevelly (his rendering of
the Monastery's name) Western Australia, the
village he founded, and he gave it to Greek people
as a token of gratitude to the Head Monk of the
Preveli Monastery, his fellow monks, and many
villagers from surrounding districts who did so
much for Allied Servicemen in the grim days
of 1941

Fremantle, Western Australia

In 1944 he was posted to Fremantle in Western
Australia and served aboard HMS Tantalus. From here
he patrolled the South China seas, often for up to 57
days at a stretch.
Top



Thrasher pulls alongside her supply ship.


HMS Tantalus was launched 4th February 1943, and was
Scrapped in November 1950 at Milford Haven in Wales.


Petty Officer George Davison DSM, photographed
at a Thrasher reunion in Auckland NZ, in the
1980's.

The Tantalus would call in and refuel at Exmouth, near
the top of WA, then shoot through the Lombok Strait
and into the South China Seas.

During his time on the Thrasher, he was assigned
mainly to the Meditteranean Sea and worked the
Greek Islands, from Crete, Naxos, Amorgos, to
the mainland areas around Salonika.


Some of Thrasher's crew on leave in Egypt.
Photo courtesy of Mrs Betty Cullings.

The Thrasher survived the war with a number of
acheivments to her credit. Two of these being:

Top


Crete, 1942. 2 x VC.
13/14/Jan, 1942, just north of Crete, the
Thrasher attacked and sank a supply ship, she
was subsequently attacked herself, and later, after
surfacing at night, two unexploded bombs were
discovered in the forward casing.
The first Lieutenant Roberts and Petty Officer Gould
removed the first one without too much difficulty,
but the second was lying in a very confined space
and they had to approach it lying full length. Petty
Officer Gould then lay on his back with the bomb in
his arms while the Lieutenant dragged him along by
the shoulders. It was 40 minutes before they got
the bomb clear and dropped it over the side.
Apart from the danger of the bombs exploding, the
added concern was that if the enemy attacked them
whilst on the surface, both men would have to be
sacrificed if they had to crash dive.
For this action, both Gould and Roberts received the
Victoria Cross.


Above: Lt PSW Roberts, Right: Petty Officer T. Gould



Petty Officer Gould (left) with Thrashers
Commanding Officer, Hugh McKenzie.
Photo courtesy of Mrs Betty Cullings.


LINKS

Just click the logos to go to there.






Top