Date of birth:

October 10th, 1905 (Abberly Hall-Worcestershire, United Kingdom)

Date of death:

January 29th, 1990 (Rotorua, New Zealand)

Nationality:

British

Ronald Dewhurst was educated at Abberly Hall, Osborne and
Dartmouth. He joined the Navy in 1919 and served in submarines from 1927 until 1953.

He commanded H.M. Submarines H. 33, Seahorse, and Rorqual. Under Dewhurst’s experienced command, the minelayer Rorqual achieved numerous successes against enemy shipping in both the Adriatic and the Mediterranean in 1940-41, and she also took part in the battle for Crete. Rorqual’s minefields claimed the torpedo boats Generale Achille Papa, Calipso, Fratelli Cairoli and Generale Antonio and many merchant ships. The Italian submarine Pier Capponi was also sunk and the tanker Laura Corrado torpedoed. However Dewhurst’s most extraordinary encounter was with the Italian tug Ursus, which was found towing a floating battery to the north-west of Dubrovnik. The draught of the battery was too shallow for a conventional torpedo attack so Dewhurst surfaced, planning a short-range surprise attack with his single 4-inch gun. Although successful in hitting both craft and setting them alight, the Italians in the tug and on the battery were gallant men and their return fire was unexpectedly strong, forcing Dewhurst to dive. He decided to settle the matter with a torpedo set to run against the tug almost on the surface, only to find that the torpedo developed a fault and was circling around back towards him. The Rorqual had to make a deep emergency dive to avoid being hit by her own torpedo.

Commander Dewhurst’s wife died in 1953. He later remarried and went to live in Rotorua, New Zealand, following his retirement in 1955. After his death in 1990, Dewhurst’s ashes were scattered at sea from a New Zealand warship.

Promotions:
30th July 1926: Sub-Lieutenant;
29th February 1928: Lieutenant;
29th February 1936: Lieutenant-commander;
31st December 1941: Commander.

Career:
1919: Entering service with Royal Navy;
?: Commanding Offiver H.M.S. H.33;
?: Commanding Officer H.M.S. Seahorse;
25th August 1939 - 1st June 1941: Commanding Officer H.M.S. Rorqual (N 74);
June 1944 - 5th May 1946: Commanding Officer H.M.S. Amphion (P 439).

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• - Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 35029 published on the 31 December 1940
  - Third Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 35231 published on the 25 July 1941
  - Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 35296 published on the 3 October 1941
  - Morton and Eden
  - Unithistories
  - U-boat net