page_title: Thomas Crisp
section_title: Victoria Cross action
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Crisp / Victoria Cross action
caption_attribution_description: English: The crew of a German UC-1 class submarine on deck. Introduced in 1915, the submarines of this class were employed mainly on minelaying duties and carried up to twelve mines. German submarines sank 1,845,000 tons of Allied and neutral shipping between February and April 1917. - unknown date Français&#160;: L'équipage d'un allemand UC-1 classe de sous-marin sur le pont. Introduite en 1915, les sous-marins de cette classe sont employés principalement sur les droits de pose de mines et transporté jusqu'à douze mines. Sous-marins allemands ont coulé 1845000 tonnes d'alliés et neutres la navigation entre février et avril 1917. -- Date inconnu(e Deutsch: Die Besatzung eines deutschen UC-1-Klasse-U-Boots auf dem Deck. Eingeführt 1915, die U-Boote dieser Klasse wurden hauptsächlich zum Minenlegen eingesetzt und führten bis zu zwölf Minen. Deutsche U-Boote versenkten 1.845.000 Tonnen der alliierten und neutralen Schiffe zwischen Februar und April 1917. -- Unbekanntes Datum Italiano: L'equipaggio di un tedesco UC-1 classe di sottomarini sul ponte. Introdotta nel 1915, i sottomarini di questa classe sono state impiegate principalmente su minelaying dazi e portato fino a dodici miniere. Sommergibili tedeschi affondò 1.845.000 tonnellate di alleati e neutrali di spedizione tra febbraio e aprile 1917. -- Data sconosciuta Español: Tripulación de un sumergible alemán clase UC-1 en cubierta. Introducido en 1915, los sumergibles de esta clase fueron empleados principalmente en tareas de minado llevando hasta doce minas. Los Submarinos alemanes hundieron 1.845.000 ton de buques aliados y neutrales entre febrero y abril de 1917. -- Fecha desconocida Русский: Экипаж немецкой подводной лодки класса UC-1 на палубе. Введенные в строй в 1915 году, подводные лодки этого класса были заняты в основном укладкой мин и снаряжались до двенадцатью минами. Немецкие подводные лодки потопили 1845000 тонн перевозок союзного и нейтрального судоходства в период с февраля по апрель 1917 года. -- дата неизвестна Ελληνικά: Το πληρωμα ενος γερμανου UC-1 κατηγοριας υποβρυχιο στο καταστρωμα. Καθιερωθηκε το 1915, η κατηγορια αυτη των υποβρυχιων ηταν απασχολουνται κυριως στις ναρκοθετησης δασμων και μεταφερονται μεχρι και δωδεκα ορυχεια. Γερμανικα υποβρυχια βυθισαν 1.845.000 τονους των Συμμαχικων και ουδετερο ναυτιλιας μεταξυ Φεβρουαριου και Απριλιου 1917. -- αγνωστη ημερομηνια العربية: (ARABIC) الوصف&#160;: طاقم الماني الحروف الكبيرة - 1 الطبقة الغواصه على سطح السفينة. قدم فى عام 1915 ، فان الغواصات من هذه الفئة كانوا يعملون اساسا على زرع الألغام والواجبات التي يقوم تصل الى أثني عشر الالغام. الغواصات الالمانيه غرقت 1845000 طن من الشحن المتحالفه والمحايده بين شباط / فبراير ونيسان / ابريل 1917. -- غير معروف حتى الان
context_page_description: Skipper Thomas Crisp VC, DSC, RNR was an English posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross. Crisp, in civilian life a commercial fisherman operating from Lowestoft in Suffolk, earned his award after being killed during the defence of his vessel, the armed naval smack Nelson, in the North Sea against an attack from a German submarine in 1917.
  Crisp's self-sacrifice in the face of this "unequal struggle" was used by the government to bolster morale during some of the toughest days of the First World War for Britain, in late 1917, during which Britain was suffering heavy losses at the Battle of Passchendaele. His exploit was read aloud by David Lloyd George in the Houses of Parliament and made headline news for nearly a week.
context_section_description: In July, I'll Try was renamed Nelson and Boy Alfred became Ethel & Millie, in an effort to maintain their cover. The boats continued to operate together and Crisp's crew was augmented with two regular seamen and a Royal Marine rifleman, providing Nelson with a crew of ten, including Crisp and his son. The smacks set out as usual on 15 August and pulled in a catch during the morning before making a sweep near the Jim Howe Bank in search of cruising enemies. At 2.30 pm, Crisp spotted a German U-boat on the surface 6,000 yards (5,500 m) away. The U-boat also sighted the smack and both vessels began firing at once, the U-boat's weapon scoring several hits before Nelson's could be brought to bear. By this stage in the war, German submarine captains were aware of the decoy ship tactics and no longer stopped British merchant shipping, preferring to sink them from a distance with gunfire.
  With such a heavy disparity in armament between the smack's 3-pounder and the submarine's 88 mm deck gun the engagement was short lived, the submarine firing eight shots before the Nelson could get within range of her opponent. The fourth shot fired by the U-boat holed the smack, and the seventh tore off both of Crisp's legs from underneath him. Calling for the confidential papers to be thrown overboard, Crisp dictated a message to be sent by the boat's four carrier pigeons: like many small ships of the era, Nelson did not possess a radio set.
  The sinking smack was abandoned by the nine unwounded crew, who attempted to remove their captain, who ordered that he should be thrown overboard rather than slow them down. The crew refused to do so, but found they were unable to move him and left him where he lay. He died in his son's arms a few minutes later. It is said that he was smiling as he died and remained so as the ship sank underneath him. Ethel & Millie had just arrived on the scene as Nelson sank, and her captain Skipper Charles Manning called for Nelson's lifeboat to come alongside. Realising that this would greatly overcrowd the second boat, the survivors refused and Manning sailed onwards towards the submarine, coming under lethal fire as he did so. His vessel was soon badly damaged and began to sink.
  The crew of Ethel & Millie then abandoned their battered boat and were hauled aboard the German submarine, where the Nelson survivors last saw them standing in line being addressed by a German officer. The seven British sailors of Ethel & Millie were never seen again, and much controversy exists surrounding their disappearance. Prevailing opinion at the time was that they were killed and dumped overboard by the German crew or abandoned at sea without supplies, as the German government had made it clear they regarded the crews of merchant ships who fought back against U-boat attacks as francs-tireurs, and thus liable to execution. These scenarios cannot be substantiated. Another theory is that they were taken prisoner and killed when the submarine was sunk. The son of Arthur Soanes, a sailor who disappeared in this incident, later claimed to have contacted his father through his powers as a spiritual medium, reporting that he had died on board the German vessel. UC-63 has been named as the submarine that sank both vessels.
  The survivors of Nelson drifted for nearly two days until they arrived at the Jim Howe Buoy, where they were rescued by the fishery protection vessel Dryad. A pigeon named "Red Cock" had reached the authorities in Lowestoft with news of the fate of the boats and caused the Dryad to be despatched to search for survivors.
  A court of enquiry praised the surviving crew and their dead captain and authorised the award of the Victoria Cross posthumously to Thomas Crisp and Distinguished Service Medals to his son and another member of the crew. On 29 October 1917, David Lloyd George made an emotional speech in the House of Commons citing Crisp's sacrifice as representative of the Royal Navy's commitment "from the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean to the stormy floods of Magellan", which promoted Crisp into an overnight celebrity whose
caption: A UC-class coastal U-boat similar to the one that may have sunk Nelson
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