Gwynne, Ernest Alfred; Able Seaman/Petty Officer; RAN 7475
Victorian-born Ernest Gwynne joined the Royal Australian Navy on 1 January 1913 for a period of five years as an able seaman. He was selected for training for Australia’s new AE2. Returning with the AE2 to action in the Dardanelles, he was unexpectedly listed for service as ‘spare crew’ for another Allied submarine, the British E7, under Lieutenant Commander Archibald Cochrane. The E7 followed close behind the epic voyage of AE2, and Gwynne soon found himself in the thick of battle. E7 was a later vessel with upgraded guns and torpedoes. It entered the Sea of Marmara and bombarded trains, a railway viaduct, the Constantinople naval arsenal and an ammunitions store—creating havoc among the Turks—before it was caught in nets across the Narrows. E7’s crew was taken prisoner and Gwynne was reunited with his AE2 mates.
Gwynne clearly identified himself as belonging to the AE2, and remained with those submariners as a prisoner of war for three and a half years. He moved with them from his first camp at Afion Kara Hissar to Belemedik, and it was from Belemedik that he made an escape attempt with his friend, AE2 signalman A.N.C. ‘Bunts’ Thomson in June 1916.
Sent to a railway punishment camp at Adapazari near Pozanti, Gwynne wrote in December 1917 to thank the Red Cross for getting two parcels and money to him, but adding that nothing had been received from his mother in Melbourne for two and a half years. He was desperately in need of both clothing and boots. In a second Red Cross letter on 22 September 1918 he reported that he was surviving his extremely dangerous circumstances and was fit and well.
Back home in February 1919, Gwynne promptly re-enlisted in the RAN. Promoted to leading seaman by 1921, he served another tour of duty during which he was promoted to petty officer. His record of service was one of the longest and most consistent of all the AE2 men. He was discharged at his own request in 1937, but recommenced duty with the navy’s shore-based auxiliary services during WWII. He died on 18 November 1951, aged 60.
