John Austin Gaimes
Lieutenant-Commander John Austin Gaimes, D.S.O., (10 May, 1886 – 20 January, 1921) was an officer in the Royal Navy who died shortly after the Great War when the submarine K 5 sank.
His superiors found him to be "good at games" despite his "delicate appearance". One felt that Gaimes needed more "self confidence".
Life & Career
On 3 June, 1907 Gaimes was found to be suffering from a hernia and was allotted two weeks to recover.
Gaimes was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1908.
On 8 July 1910, Gaimes was admitted to Chatham Hospital for ten days with boils. He was out in seven days.
Gaimes was appointed in command of the submarine C 37 on 4 March, 1913.[1]
Great War
On 26 June 1916, Gaimes was appointed temporarily in charge of the Examination Service in Hong Kong. In mid-July, Gaimes applied for the acting rank of Lieutenant-Commander and was refused.
Under orders to proceed home, Gaimes was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 31 December, 1916. He embarked in S.S. Somali on 27 January, 1917, expected in England on 3 March.
On 2 May 1918, Gaimes was informed that his apparently ad-hoc minelaying operations in enemy waters during 23-25 April, 1918 "was fully approved."
Gaimes was awarded a D.S.O for his service in submarines during the period 5 January to May 1918, gazetted 21 June, 1918. The award was invested at Buckingham Palace on 11 September.
Post-War
On 5 May 1919, Gaimes was subjected to a Court of Enquiry on an accusation that he had landed durable goods on Parkestone Quay on 4 March 1919. The Court found that Gaimes had not intended to smuggle and seemed to be ignorant of the order against landing spirits, in abeyance at the Quay until 12 or 15 months previously. Gaimes had acted wrongly, however, in not having Customs Landing Passes prepared. There was no disciplinary action taken against him.
Gaimes was appointed in command of the submarine K 5 in April, 1920.[2] He would be killed when she sank on 20 January, 1921.
See Also
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by John T. Cull |
Captain of H.M.S. A 9 5 Oct, 1911[3] – 26 Sep, 1912 |
Succeeded by Colin Cantlie |
| Preceded by Henry A. Binmore |
Captain of H.M.S. B 3 26 Sep, 1912[4] – 4 Mar, 1913 |
Succeeded by Geoffrey Warburton |
| Preceded by Athelstan A. L. Fenner |
Captain of H.M.S. C 37 4 Mar, 1913[5] – Oct, 1916 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by Geoffrey R. S. Watkins |
Captain of H.M.S. E 45 5 Jan, 1918 – 1 Aug, 1918 |
Succeeded by Ronald W. Blacklock |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of H.M.S. L 14 1 Aug, 1918 – 4 Apr, 1919 |
Succeeded by Edward A. Aylmer |
| Preceded by Andrew Wilmot-Smith |
Captain of H.M.S. Sanfoin 4 Apr, 1919 – 12 Aug, 1919 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of H.M.S. Ross 12 Aug, 1919 – Nov, 1919 |
Succeeded by Brownlow V. Layard |
| Preceded by John F. Hutchings |
Captain of H.M.S. K 5 1 Apr, 1920[6] – 20 Jan, 1921 |
Succeeded by Vessel Lost |
Footnotes
