Herbert, Douglass Phillips; Engineer Lieutenant/Principal Naval Engineer; RAN
Born in Sydney on 11 November 1888, Douglass Herbert was an academically gifted student who graduated with a double honours degree from Sydney University in engineering and science in 1908. He joined the RAN in 1912.
Herbert left Australia to oversee the construction and commissioning of both AE1 and AE2. Although not aboard the submarines, he and Lieutenant Paterson always accompanied either of the depot escorts or bases and he was, according to his son Jock, ‘in all the major steps’ and therefore an integral part of the AE2 story. His task was to organise and plan for the whole squadron as well as individual submarines, design new equipment, and propose future improvements.
Herbert was at Kokopo (Rabaul) in New Guinea when the AE1 was lost, and also in the Dardanelles, although not on board the AE2 when she was last in action. He proceeded through the Dardanelles with the Allied fleet in 1919, conveying intelligence officers from Constantinople to Sebastopol in the Crimea. During and post-WWI, he continued service in the RAN all over the world, including New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, Jamaica and the UK. By 1919 he had been promoted to engineer lieutenant commander. He returned to Sydney with his Scottish wife Jean and their boys Colin and Jock in 1924, and saw service in Japan and Hong Kong before returning to Geelong and then Garden Island, Sydney.
By the late 1930s Herbert was naval engineer officer at the High Commission in London, and rejoined the navy when war broke out, seeing active service at Naval Headquarters in Darwin in 1939 and 1940. He was transferred in 1941 as principal naval engineer in Adelaide, overseeing wartime shipbuilding.
He retired in 1953 and moved to Melbourne. He died on 22 October 1964 after a long and distinguished career.
