Sydney James Knowles | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1921-09-03)3 September 1921 |
| Died | 31 July 2012(2012-07-31) (aged 90) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1939–1950 |
| Unit |
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| Battles / wars | World War II • Battle of the Atlantic • Operation Pedestal |
| Awards | British Empire Medal |
Sydney Knowles,BEM, (3 September 1921 – 31 July 2012) was a British Royal Navyfrogman during and afterWorld War II.[1][2]
Knowles was born inPreston, Lancashire, the son of a railwayman. He joined the Navy at the start of World War II and served as astoker aboard the destroyersZulu andLookout, taking part in trans-Atlantic convoys and inOperation Pedestal, the relief of Malta. In 1942 Knowles joined the Underwater Working Party, underLieutenant CommanderLionel Crabb, at Gibraltar.[1]
Knowles was one of a group of underwater guard divers who checked forlimpet mines inGibraltar Harbour during the period ofItalian frogman and manned torpedo attacks. The group dived withDavis Escape Sets, which until then had not been used much if at all for swimming down from the surface. At first they swam bybreaststroke withoutswimfins.
On 17 December 1942, during one such attack, two of the Italianfrogmen (Lt.Visintini and Petty Officer Magro) died, probably killed by small explosive charges thrown from harbor-defence patrol boats, a tactic said to have been introduced by Crabb. Their bodies were recovered, and their swimfins were taken and from then on used by Knowles and Crabb.
In July 1943 Knowles took part in the recovery of the body ofFree Polish Commander GeneralWładysław Sikorski, afterhis aircraft crashed off Gibraltar. Later his unit operated in Italy, clearing mines and obstacles, including mines from theBridge of Sighs in Venice. Knowles left the Navy in 1950, and worked as a self-employedhaulier.[1] His last mission before leaving theBritish Royal Navy was to search for aSpanish Armadagalleon inTobermory Bay on theIsle of Mull.[3]
In 1955 Crabb took Knowles with him to investigate the hull of theSoviet cruiser Sverdlov to evaluate its superior manoeuvrability. According to Knowles, they found a circular opening at the ship's bow and inside it a large propeller that could be directed to give thrust to the bow.
Crabb disappeared after a dive on theSverdlov's sister ship,Ordzhonikidze in Portsmouth harbour in 1956, but 14 months later a body in a frogman suit was found floating offPilsey Island. The body was mutilated and identification by relatives proved difficult. Knowles knew that Crabb had two prominent scars on his left leg; having failed to find any scars on the corpse he refused to identify it as Crabb's.[4] An inquest jury returned an open verdict but the coroner announced that he was satisfied that the body was that of Lionel Crabb.
On 26 March 2006,The Mail On Sunday published an article byTim Binding entitled "Buster Crabb was murdered - byMI5". Binding wrote a fictionalised account of Crabb's life,Man Overboard which was published by Picador in 2005. Binding stated that, following the book's publication, he was contacted by Knowles, who now lived inMálaga, Spain. Binding alleged that he then met Knowles in Spain and was told that Crabb was known by MI5 to have intentions of defecting to the USSR. This would have been embarrassing for the UK — Crabb being an acknowledged war hero. Knowles has suggested that MI5 set up the mission to theOrdzhonikidze specifically to murder Crabb, and supplied Crabb with a new diving partner ordered to kill him. Binding stated that Knowles alleges that he was ordered by MI5 to identify the body found as Crabb, when he knew it was definitely not Crabb. Knowles went along with the deception. Knowles has also alleged that his life was threatened in Torremolinos in 1989, at a time when Knowles was in discussions with a biographer.
Knowles also stated on televised interview on that Crabb did not dive alone on his fatal last mission.[5]
He died inCoín,Spain, on 31 July 2012. He was buried in theEnglish Cemetery inMálaga.[1][3]
Knowles was played byMichael Craig in the fictionalised 1958 filmThe Silent Enemy about World War II divers in Gibraltar.
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