James Joseph Magennis

James Magennis was born on 27 October 1919, at Majorca Street, West Belfast, Ireland. He was from a working class Roman Catholic family and attended St Finian's Primary School on the Falls Road, Belfast. On 3 June 1935 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a boy seaman (spelling his surname Magennis).[2]

Magennis served on several warships between 1935 and 1942, when he joined the submarine branch. Before joining the submarine branch, Magennis served on the destroyer Kandahar, which was mined off Tripoli, Libya, in December 1941, while Magennis was on board. The ship was irreparably damaged and was scuttled the following day.[3]

In December 1942, Magennis was drafted into the Royal Navy Submarine Service and, in March 1943, he volunteered for "special and Hazardous duties" – which meant midget submarines, or X-craft. He trained as a diver, and in September 1943, took part in the first major use of the X-craft during Operation Source. Two submarines, HMS X7 and HMS X6, penetrated Kåfjord, Norway, and disabled the German battleship Tirpitz.[2] For his part in the attack Magennis was Mentioned in Despatches "[f]or bravery and devotion to duty" in 1943.[4]

In July 1945, Magennis, as acting leading seaman, was serving as the diver on the midget submarine HMS XE3, under the command of Lieutenant Ian Edward Fraser, as part of Operation Struggle.[5] They were tasked with sinking the 10,000 ton Japanese cruiser Takao, the first of the Takao-class cruiser. She was berthed in the Straits of Johor, Singapore, acting as an anti-aircraft battery. On 30 July, XE3 was towed to the area by the submarine Stygian. She slipped her tow at 23:00 for the 40-mile (64 km) journey through hazardous wrecks, minefields and listening posts to reach the Takao. After arriving at the Takao at 13:00 on 31 July, Magennis slipped out of the wet-and-dry chamber and attached limpet mines to the Takao under particularly difficult circumstances. He had to chip away at barnacles on the bottom of the cruiser for 30 minutes, before being able to attach the limpets.

During this time, Magennis' breathing apparatus was leaking and he returned to the submarine after completion of his task very exhausted. On withdrawing, Fraser found that one of the limpet carriers which was being jettisoned would not release itself. Magennis immediately volunteered to free it, commenting: "I'll be all right as soon as I've got my wind, Sir."[6] This he did, after seven minutes of nerve-racking work with a heavy spanner. On completion, Magennis returned to XE3 for the second time, allowing the four-man midget submarine to make its escape out to open sea to meet the waiting Stygian. Fraser was also awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the attack; whilst Lieutenant William J. L. Smith, who was at the controls of XE3 during the attack, received the Distinguished Service Order. Engineer third class Charles Alfred Reed, who was at the wheel, received the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.

HMS XE1 was supposed to be attacking another Japanese vessel as part of the same operation, but actually ended up also placing its explosives under the same target. XE1's commanding officer, Lieutenant John Elliott Smart, and Sub-Lieutenant Harold Edwin Harper, received the Distinguished Service Cross. Engineer fourth class Henry James Fishleigh and leading seaman Walter Henry Arthur Pomeroy received the Distinguished Service Medal. Engineer fourth class Albert Nairn, leading stoker Jack Gordan Robinson, and Able Seaman Ernest Raymond Dee were mentioned in dispatches for their part in bringing the two midget submarines from harbour to the point where the crews that took part in the attack took over.[7]

Memorial to Leading Seaman Magennis VC

Wall mural commemorating James Magennis

Magennis was the only Victoria Cross recipient of the Second World War to hail from Northern Ireland. As a result, Magennis obtained something of a "celebrity status"[8] in his home city. The citizens of Belfast raised more than £3,000 as part of a "Shilling Fund."[8] The City Fathers of Belfast refused to give Magennis the freedom of the City though. Sources differ as to the reasoning behind this; some claim it was due to religious divisions, others claim it was due to the City Fathers not "... believing that such an honour could not be bestowed on a working-class Catholic from the inner-city slums."[2]

In 1946 Magennis married Edna Skidmore, with whom he had four sons. The money from the Shilling Fund was spent quickly by Magennis and his wife; she remarked: "We are simple people ... forced into the limelight. We lived beyond our means because it seemed the right thing to do."[8] In 1949 he left the navy and returned to Belfast, where, at some point, he sold his Victoria Cross. In 1955, he moved to Yorkshire, where he worked as an electrician. For the last years of his life, he suffered from chronic ill health, before dying on 11 February 1986 of lung cancer hours before his heroism was honoured by the Royal Navy Philatelic Office with a first-day cover.[8]

Magennis has had several memorials in his honour. Initial official recognition was only a photograph in the robing room of the Belfast city council chamber. The first memorial was erected in 1999 after a long campaign by his biographer George Fleming and Major S.H. Pollock CD (Canada). It, an elegant bronze and stone statue created by sculptor Elizabeth McLaughlin, was unveiled in Belfast on 8 October 1999. The ceremony was conducted in the grounds of Belfast City Hall in the presence of Magennis's son Paul, by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Bob Stoker.

Magennis's former commanding officer, Ian Fraser, was reported as saying: "Jim gave me bother from time to time. He liked his tot of rum, but he was a lovely man and a fine diver. I have never met a braver man. It was a privilege to know him and it's wonderful to see Belfast honour him at last." A wall mural commemorating James Magennis on the 60th anniversary of VJ day was unveiled on 16 September 2005 by Peter Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament representing East Belfast, including Tullycarnet.

His portrait in oils was painted by Belfast artist Robert Taylor Carson who described Magennis as 'the perfect model - patient, attentive and completely natural.' The painting was purchased by Mr. Nevill McGeough Bond of the Argory, who then presented it to the Northern Ireland War Memorial Building Fund in 1946. The painting still hangs on display at the Northern Ireland War Memorial.

Magennis plaques

Royal Naval Association, Great Victoria Street, Belfast

In 1986 at a memorial service in Bradford Cathedral, the Submarine Old Comrade Association (West Riding Branch) erected a memorial plaque on an inner wall within the cathedral. The plaque made of Welsh slate was supplied by ex-submariner Tommy Topham MBE. Rear Admiral Place VC, CB, CVO, DSC unveiled the plaque. In attendance was Petty Officer Tommy "Nat" Gould, another submariner Victoria Cross recipient of the Second World War.

In 1998 a memorial plaque was installed by Castlereagh Borough Council on the wall of Magennis's former home at 32 Carncaver Road, Castlereagh, East Belfast. A memorial blue plaque sponsored by Belfast City Council was installed on the outer wall of the Royal Naval Association building at Great Victoria Street, Belfast by the Ulster History Circle.[9]

Magennis was profiled in the 2006 television docudrama Victoria Cross Heroes, which included archive footage, dramatisations of his actions and an interview with Lord Ashcroft about his VC.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Joseph Magennis.

• HMS Ganges Association (biography, photo, VC action details)
• Northern Ireland Submariners Association
• Unveiling memorial on 8 October 1999 (Maritime Institute of Ireland)
• Campaign for a memorial
• "Loyalists replace UFF mural with tribute to Catholic VC Navy hero" Belfast Telegraph (18 September 2005)
• Northern Ireland War Memorial