Leading Seaman Andrew James Wallace (P/JX 142260) served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was the son of George Wallace and Annie Wallace of Florence Court, Co. Fermanagh.
He died on 14th October 1939 aged 20 years old when German submarine U-47 sank H.M.S. Royal Oak in Scapa Flow. H.M.S. Royal Oak had just returned from a Home Fleet sweep to resume its role as an anti-aircraft defence ship.
U-47 approached Scapa Flow through the narrow approaches at Kirk Sound. There were 51 ships in Scapa Flow. The crew of H.M.S. Royal Oak heard the first torpedo strike at 0058hrs. They assumed there was a problem on board but a U-Boat attack was the last thing on their mind in the safety of Scapa Flow. A second torpedo from U-47 missed the target but the 3rd caused great damage.
Inside of Scapa Flow, the harbour of the English sea force, it was absolutely dead calm in there. The entire bay was alight because of bright northern lights. We then cruised in the bay for approximately one and a half hour, chose our targets, fired our torpedoes. In the next moment there was a bang and the next moment the Royal Oak blew up. The view was indescribable. And we sneaked out, in a similar fashion as we got in, close past the enemy guards, and they did not see us. You can imagine the excitement and happiness we all felt, about the fact that we managed to fulfil our task and achieve such a huge victory for Germany.
Video interview with U-47 Commander Günther Prien.
A huge explosion amidships caused the ship to go down. Due to the assumed safety and good weather, all watertight hatches were open. This would have increased the speed at which H.M.S. Royal Oak went down. Men asleep in their bunks did not have time to escape as the vessel went down in minutes. Those who escaped the ship fought for their lives in freezing water and fuel oil. A total of 384 died as a result of the incident.
Andrew James Wallace has no known grave. His name is on Panel 33, Column 2 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.