William Edward Sanders William Edward Sanders VC , DSO ( 7 February 1883 – 14 August 1917 ) was a New Zealander recipient of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Sanders ' Victoria Cross was won while commanding the HMS " Prize " during the First World War . He was later killed in action when the " Prize " was sunk by a German U - boat . Early life . William Sanders was born in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland on 7 February 1883 . His father , Edward Helman Cook Sanders , was a boot maker , who with his wife Emma Jane Sanders ( née Wilson ) , would have three more children . His maternal grandfather was a sea captain and worked for the family ' s shipping company . Sanders attended Nelson Street School but in 1894 , when his family moved to Takapuna , he shifted to Takapuna School . The school was close to Lake Pupuke , where he learned to sail . He earned the nickname " Gunner Billy " for his exploits with a small cannon that a classmate brought to school . He left school at the age of 15 , and due to the influence of his parents was apprenticed to a mercer in Auckland . He was not particularly interested in the profession and , desiring a career at sea , would go down to the wharfs to inspect the berthed ships and chat with their captains and crewmen . In 1899 , Sanders joined the " Kapanui " as a cabin boy . An officer on the ship , a coastal steamer which worked the coast north of Auckland , was an acquaintance and advised Sanders of the availability of a position on board as a cabin boy , which he promptly applied for . He remained with the company that operated the " Kapanui " for three years . In 1902 he joined the " Aparima " , operated by the Union Steam Ship Company , which traded between New Zealand and India . He transferred to the NZGSS " Hinemoa " in 1906 as an ordinary seaman . The " Hinemoa " was a government steamer which serviced lighthouses along the New Zealand coast and depots on offshore islands . With his seafaring career to date spent working on steamships , Sanders decided to spend time under sail with the Craig Line . At the time , steam was looked down upon by seafarers with sailors being regarded as more skillful . After taking his mate ' s certificates , he was aboard the " Joseph Craig " , which foundered on the Hokianga bar on 7 August 1914 . First World War . During the early part of the war , Sanders worked as second mate on the " Moeraki " . He also sat for his Masters certificate , passing with honours on 7 November 1914 . He was then discharged from the " Moeraki " in December and applied for the Royal Naval Reserve . However , he was not called up and in the interim served as a Merchant Navy officer on the troopships " Willochra " and " Tofua " . After repeated pleas to authorities , Sanders traveled to London and on 19 April 1916 was finally appointed an acting sub - lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve . After a period of time at the HMS " Excellent " training facility on Whale Island , he was granted a position on the " Helgoland " , a Q - ship operating against German submarines in the Western Approaches . Q - ships were merchant ships crewed by Navy personnel and bearing hidden weaponry . When attacked by U - boats , a portion of the ship ' s crew ( referred to as a " panic party " ) would appear to evacuate the vessel , sometimes setting smoke fires to simulate damage . This would encourage its attacker to approach and when the U - boat was close enough , the Q - ship ' s guns would become operational and open fire , hopefully destroying the submarine . The " Helgoland " was a Dutch brigantine armed with 12 - pounder guns and a machine gun . Sanders , second in command to Captain ( then Lieutenant ) A . D . Blair , helped oversee its conversion to a Q - ship . On its first patrol in September 1916 it participated in two actions against U - boats , and on its second the following month , it again engaged two U - boats . On both occasions , Sanders was noted for his calmness under fire . At one stage in one of the October actions , a screen concealing one of the guns jammed ; Sanders exposed himself to potential gun fire from the U - boat being attacked in order to free the screen . His conduct on the " Helgoland " resulted in a promotion to lieutenant for Sanders , and he was also recommended for command of his own ship . In February 1917 , he was appointed captain of the HMS " Prize " , a three - masted topsail schooner that was sailing under the German flag when it was seized in 1914 and converted to a Q - ship in early 1917 . At midnight on 30 April 1917 about 180 miles south of Ireland , in the Atlantic , the " Prize " was attacked by a U - boat , the . It was genuinely badly damaged by shellfire from the U - boat ' s deck guns . Sanders , remaining under cover , moved about the vessel reassuring his men . After the ' panic party ' had taken to the boats and the ship appeared to be sinking , the U - boat approached to within 80 yards of her port quarter , whereupon Sanders ordered the White Ensign hoisted and the " Prize " opened fire . Within a few minutes the submarine was on fire and her bows rose in the air , whilst the " Prize " was further damaged . The U - boat disappeared from sight , and was believed to have been sunk by the crew of the " Prize " and by several of the German crew ( including her captain ) who had been blown or jumped into the sea . However , neither of the crippled ships had sunk , with the " Prize " being towed in flames back to Kinsale . The " U - 93 " struggled back to the Sylt nine days later . Badly damaged , the " Prize " had to spend several weeks being repaired . During this time the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John Jellicoe offered Sanders command of a destroyer of his choosing , which he declined . He returned to sea in May with the " Prize " conducting a second patrol for three weeks . Sanders was wounded slightly in an action on 12 June , in which the " Prize " was fired at 30 times by the U - boat being attacked . His award of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) for his actions on 30 April was gazetted in June , while he was at sea on a third patrol . Because the use of Q - ships such as the " Prize " were still secret , the published details of his award when it was gazetted simply read " In recognition of his conspicuous gallantry , consummate coolness , and skill in command of one of H . M . Ships in action . " The " Prize " was lost on its fourth patrol , Sanders having been promoted to lieutenant - commander . On 14 August 1917 , the spotted the " Prize " . The Q - ship was recognised by the captain of the U - boat , who had been warned by the survivors of " U - 93 " and did not approach the " Prize " too closely . Instead , it remained submerged and fired two torpedoes into the sailing ship , blowing her to pieces . Rescue craft were unable to find a trace of her crew when they arrived in the area , long after the U - boat had escaped . Sanders died without knowledge of the award of a Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) for his actions on 12 June 1917 . In June 1918 , Sanders ' father received his son ' s VC and DSO from the Governor - General of New Zealand . Sander ' s VC , the only one won by a New Zealander serving in the navy , and DSO is on display at the Auckland War Memorial Museum . Memorials . There are many memorials to Sanders , including an exhibit of photographs and his citations at Takapuna Primary School , which he attended , a bronze tablet in the church at Milford Haven , the home port of the " Prize " , and " The Sanders Memorial Scholarship " at the University of Auckland for children of members of the Royal Navy or the Mercantile Marine . The best - known memorial is the Sanders Cup for interprovincial competition between 14 – foot ( 4 . 3 m ) centerboard X - class yachts , still contested to this day .