Operation Source – Kylesku Ceremony

From Tim Honnor

A ceremony took place at the Kylesku Memorial Cairn, at noon on Saturday 23rd September, to honour the eightieth anniversary of the daring raid of our X-Craft on the German Battleship TIRPITZ, was a most successful and poignant occasion for the some sixty or more persons, who were present to witness the wreath laying and prayers.  As  the words of the submarine and naval prayers drifted over the loch waters below, the weather was kind in allowing all to take in the remarkable beauty of this remote spot, enhanced by a lament – and then ‘Highland Cathedral’ – played by a lone piper. 

Ten wreathes were laid, led by the Lord Lieutenant of Sutherland, Major General Patrick Marriott, CB, CBE, followed by submarine associations and family members of those who were involved in this great operation of 1943.

The introduction to the ceremony was a short speech by Jonathan Brett Young DL, who himself has given distinguished service in the Royal Australian Navy.

The speech

With the ceremony over, work is now underway to decide how best to enhance and repair the memorial to the XII Submarine Squadron, and provide two detailed information boards at the site. One board will depict the world-wide operation of the X-Craft midget submarines, and the other focus on Operation SOURCE and the attack on TIRPITZ.

Three ’submarine wives’ – Mrs Susie Wilks – Mrs Janet Honnor – Mrs Elizabeth Hunter
William Fell is third from the right, beside me. Mrs Sonia Cameron Jacks, who wrote the book about Donald Cameron VC, is to the left of Amanda Prideaux, daughter of Donald Cameron. The Padre is Laurence Gunner, ex Canon Emeritus of St George’s Chapel Windsor, who gave the Submarine Prayer and the Naval Prayer. (He did national service in Malta in a T Boat under the command of Jackie Slaughter) The man to the left of General Patrick Marriott, is Jonathan Brett-Young, ex RAN and who is a DL of Sutherland.

2 comments on “Operation Source – Kylesku Ceremony”

  1. Rob Forsyth says:

    Big shout out for Tim for taking this on so successfully.

  2. James Taylor says:

    BZ TIm.

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Speech by Jonathan Brett Young DL

Lord-Lieutenant, Distinguished guests, Ladies  and Gentlemen.

A very warm welcome  to this lovely remote Loch. A Loch that holds many secrets. Especially welcome are members of the Fell  family, the  Cameron family ,  Mrs Sonia Cameron-Jacks, Canon Laurence Gunner who will lead us in prayers and also members of the wider Submarine family.  both serving and retired. You are all very welcome.

Just over 80 years ago on the 11th of September 1943, six midget submarines, X craft, set off from here, towed by conventional submarines on a 1200 mile passage to northern Norway. The target was the German battleship TIRPITZ  which  was a major threat to Allied shipping in the north Atlantic.

The previous month had  been spent in intensive training. On the south side of Loch Cairnbawn  is a property called  Rientraid which was in the hands of the Jellicoe family. Admiral Sir John Jellicoe of Jutland fame . His son , George Jellicoe , himself a war hero,  and incidentally, the last First Lord of the Admiralty in 1964, told me that he remembers a battleship being secured to dolphins below the property. The battleship was HMS MALAYA , which  also took part in the Battle of Jutland and which was sent to provide a practice target for the X- craft. not many people can say that they have had a battleship park at the bottom of their garden!

Godfrey Place  ,who , together with Donald Cameron was to be awarded the Victoria Cross in this operation , told me that the fact that all six X- craft  had attacked undetected   may have made them over confident. He also told me that the first side charges to be tested  were  from his boat X-7 He watched from the Kylesku  Inn and said they made an impressive fountain. 

None of the six X- craft that left here  returned. Of the 42 brave man who took part,  33 did return but nine were lost . Three  when their X- craft was lost on passage and 6 to enemy action . Place and Cameron succeeded in penetrating the nets and Iaid charges.
X-5  ( Lieutenant Henty-Creer  )  was sighted 500 yards outside the nets and was engaged by gunfire and was claimed to have been sunk. No trace was ever found.

The damage to TIRPITZ was considerable and she never sailed  operationally again during war. In 1944 she was destroyed by Lancaster aircraft of 617 and 9  Squadron, RAF

In the words of Rear Admiral  Claud Barry, Rear Admiral Submarines, and I quote :

‘It is clear that courage and enterprise of the very highest order in the close presence of the enemy was shown by these gallant gentleman whose daring  attack will surely go down to history as one of the most courageous

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