William Edward Sanders

Born 7 Feb 1883 - Died 14 Aug 1917

Service number: WWI 1261 AWMM
Also known as: —
Armed force / branch: Navy AWMM
Last rank: Lieutenant Commander/Military AWMM Royal Naval Reserve AWMM
War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

William Edward Sanders — Lieutenant Commander W.E. Sanders from The Auckland Weekly News, November 28, 1918. - No known copyright restrictions No Known Copyright Restrictions

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Biographical information

Son of Edward Helman Cooke Sanders and Emma Jane Sanders, of Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

Attended Nelson Street.

He went to sea on coastal ships around New Zealand. Held Extra Master's Certificate (Mercantile Marine). Kotiti, Hinemoa, Craig Line, Joseph Lane.

When war broke out he went to England and joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a Sub-Lieutenant in April 1916. Served on "Q-ships" which looked like inoffensive sailing vessels but were heavily armed with hidden guns. Their task was to lure German submarines to the surface.

12 February 1917 , Sanders commanded HMS "Prize", which in a successful action in April 1917 destroyed a German Submarine. After the battle he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and awarded the Victoria Cross. Two months later he was involved in another action for which he won a DSO (Distinguished Service Order).

August 14, 1917 The "Prize" was torpedoed and sunk by a German Submarine (U-boat 48). All were lost.

Remembered on the Takapuna War Memorial, The Strand, Takapuna.

Victoria Cross held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland, New Zealand. Introduced towards the close of 1914 by the British and French - and later deployed by the Italian and Russians navies - Q-Ships were deployed as an initially although decreasingly successful anti-submarine weapon.Alternatively referred to as Special Service Ships or Mystery Ships, the purpose of Q-Ships was straightforward: to trap enemy (usually German) submarines. Invariably comprised small freighters or old trawlers they were loaded with hidden guns in a collapsible deck structure.In practice U-boats would hail Q-Ships flying (in the case of the Royal Navy) the merchant red ensign and, in the period before the implementation of Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917, a so-called "panic party" would apparently abandon the Q-Ship prior to the usual German policy of approaching the enemy vessel so as to sink it with the minimum depletion of ammunition. At this stage the use of torpedoes to sink relatively small vessels was officially frowned upon. Thus with the U-boat effectively lured towards the apparently abandoned vessel the Q-Ship would run up the white ensign and the deck structure would be collapsed by the remaining ship's crew revealing a series of up to four manned guns, which would immediately open fire. Initially successful the Q-Ship ploy resulted in the sinking of some 11 enemy U-boats by the British and French. As the war progressed production of Q-Ships notably increased so that by the war's close the British alone deployed 366. However the Germans quickly developed a certain caution in approaching small enemy vessels, wary of decoys. Torpedoes were increasingly used to sink Q-Ships at longer range; and with the introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare the crews of Q-Ships were not given time to abandon ship before being fired upon.The British lost 61 Q-Ships in total.By 1917 the effectiveness of Q-Ship deployment was minimal and the overall endeavour could not be termed a success. (Source = http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/qships.htm)

Auckland War Memorial Museum Scars on the Heart WWI "Sea Dogs" display includes his Victoria Cross which has a blue ribbon, the DSO and the memorial plaque. Also displayed is a sword presented after the action against U.93 and a quote " I am very sorry to say this business gets on one's nerves. Can you imagine three weeks and over at sea, waiting and watching; we never have our clothes off until we return to base; we never know the pleasure of a real sleep; only snatches of it, it is I assure you, enough to kill an iron man, let alone a human being"

RNR Awarded the VC for action in April 1917 - killed by U-boat when in action aged 34 - Plymouth Naval Memorial VC & DSO

Next of Kin: Mr C. Sanders, 102, Ponsonby Rd, Auckland (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 2)) AWMM

Sources

External links: Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
http://www.cwgc.org
Sources Used
National Archives of New Zealand, National Collection of War Art. Portrait.
http://warart.archives.govt.nz/node/282
Further Reference
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Published on Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand online.
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=3S2
Further Reference
CWGC. Plymouth War Memorial.
http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/142001/PLYMOUTH%20NAVAL%20MEMORIAL
Further Reference
Website: Javelins.org. Sanders Memorial Cup, senior interprovincial trophy.
http://www.javelins.org/Racing/New%20Zealand/Sanders%20Cup/sandersIndex.html
Further Reference
Birkenhead (Auckland) Returned Services Association website. Victoria Cross.
http://www.birkenheadrsa.com/victoria-cross.html
Further Reference
Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand History online. Takapuna War Memorial.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/memorial/takapuna-war-memorial
Further Reference
Takapuna War Memorial Index, Auckland Council Archives
http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/CityArchives/FamilyHistory/AUC193/searchtakapuna.htm
Further Reference
Wikidata Entity
http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q8008459
Further Reference
National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy. (n.d.). Roll of honour World War One.
https://navymuseum.co.nz/explore/by-themes/world-war-one/roll-of-honour/
Further Reference
References: McKenzie, R. (1970). And quiet now their rest. Wellington N.Z.: Government Printer.
Auckland Weekly News
The Auckland Weekly News 1918
Harper, G., & Richardson, C. (2006). In the face of the enemy: The complete history of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, N.Z.: HarperCollins NZ.
Sanders, William Edward. Papers, 1917. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 271.
RNZN Navy Today
Navy Today. No 113, August 2006, p40
Harper, G., & Richardson, C. (2006). In the face of the enemy: The complete history of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, N.Z.: HarperCollins NZ.
pp. 141-142
The Register of the Victoria Cross. (1997). (3rd ed.). Cheltenham, England: This England.
p. 283
Information kindly provided by family
Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
Wright, G. C. (2015). For king and country : the biographies of New Zealand’s WW1 naval casualties. [Auckland] : [Gerry Wright].
Harper, G., Clements, C., & Johns., R. (2019). For King and Other Countries: The New Zealanders Who Fought in Other Services in the First World War. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University Press.

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William Edward Sanders