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Lieutenant Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn VC, DSO & Two Bars (28 June 1911 – missing in action 14 April 1942) was a British Royal Navy submarine ace and one of the most successful submariners in the Western Allied navies during the Second World War. Born in 1911 to an affluent family in Kolkata, British India, Wanklyn was influenced into a military career at a young age. His father was a successful businessman and engineer who served in the British Army in the First World War and his uncle was a destroyer commander who had a successful war fighting German U-Boats in the First Battle of the Atlantic. He developed a seafaring interest at the age of five and applied to join the Royal Navy aged 14. Despite some physical ailments, he was able to pass the selection boards. He progressed an commissioned officer fairly quickly and by 1931 had been promoted to sub-lieutenant and lieutenant two years later in 1933. After serving on a variety of surface ships, he joined the submarine service. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he was given command of HMS ''H31'' which he commanded from February until August 1940. Wanklyn sailed on patrol in the North Sea, during which he sank one vessel. In August 1940 he was given command of newly commissioned HMS ''Upholder''. In December 1940 the submarine was reassigned to the Mediterranean. Wanklyn began the first of his patrols in January 1941 and remained on operations in the Battle of the Mediterranean for the remainder of his career. During 15 months of operations, Wanklyn led ''Upholder'' on 27 patrols and sank eight Italian merchant and troopships while damaging two more. He also sank three German merchant ships and damaged one while succeeding in damaging one Vichy French vessel. During his combat career he fought many actions with ''Regia Marina'' (Italian Navy) warships. He sank one destroyer and one minesweeper, and damaged a light cruiser. In a rare achievement, he also sank three Italian submarines. It amounted to 128,353 tons of enemy shipping.〔Hart 2008, p. 161.〕 For the sinking of the heavily defended enemy transport SS ''Conte Rosso'' without working Asdic, he received the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be bestowed upon personnel in the British and Commonwealth forces. On 14 April 1942, while on his 28th patrol, Wanklyn and his crew disappeared. He was posted missing in action. His exact fate remains unknown. Research suggests ''Upholder'' was sunk by a combination of an Italian warship and German aircraft. In 1986 the Royal Navy launched another submarine of the same name. The Upholder/Victoria-class submarine HMS ''Upholder'' served until 1994 when it was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS ''Chicoutimi''. It remains operational. ==Early life and family== David Wanklyn's parents were William Lumb Wanklyn and Marjorie Wanklyn. His father was English and his mother's parents were Irish. As a young man Wanklyn preferred to be thought of as Scottish. He spent his formative years in Scotland and developed a close affinity for the country and people. He learned to shoot and practice his fishing skills while living there.〔Allaway 2004, pp. 14–18.〕 Wanklyn's father was born in Argentina and brought up in Ayrshire, Scotland. His ancestors had moved to Argentina in the 19th century. His maternal grandfather was managing director of the Mercantile Bank of the River Plate until its collapse in 1875. His grandfather, Frederick, died soon afterwards and his grandmother Elizabeth discovered his estate had been mismanaged. Left destitute, she headed back to England with her eight children including William. Ill-fortune struck again during their return when the vessel in which they were travelling, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, ''Boyne'', ran aground on Friday 13 August on the rocks off the Isle of Molene, near Brest, France. The family lost most of their belongings.〔Allaway 2004, pp. 14–18.〕 With little money, his mother sent William to one of the family's many connections. He was adopted by a wealthy Manchester businessman who relocated him to the family's Ayrshire residence. He attended Marlborough College and qualified as an engineer. He married Marjorie Josephine Rawson in 1906. At 21 she was 14 years his junior. Eventually they moved to India. William was appointed chief engineer of the Port Engineering Company based near Calcutta. During this time they travelled around the Far East and North America generating business contacts.〔Allaway 2004, pp. 14–18.〕 On 28 June 1911 their third son, Malcolm "David" Wanklyn was born in Kolkata, India. He had two brothers Peter (b. 1907), Patrick (b. 1915), and two sisters, Nancy (b. 1917—died of meningitis on her first birthday) and Nancy (b. 1924). The Wanklyns quickly became wealthy and by the time of David's birth they were at the height of their material and social success. In 1911 they were invited to the Delhi Durbar, attended by King George V and Queen Mary.〔Allaway 2004, pp. 14–18.〕 When the First World War broke out in 1914 William Wanklyn joined the Calcutta Light Horse. He served on the Western Front until 1915 when he returned home to the commissioned officer rank of major in the Royal Engineers. When he was only six, David Wanklyn became enamoured with the sea. At this age he first met his uncle, his mother's brother. Lieutenant Alec Anderson was serving in the Royal Navy. He had commanded a destroyer, and during a convoy escort operation he had rammed and sunk a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. His crippled ship was towed into Newport for repairs, and he used the opportunity to visit his sister and nephew in Scotland. The meeting had a profound effect upon David, who was deeply impressed by his exploits. Alec survived the war, but not the 1918 flu pandemic.〔Allaway 2004, p. 20.〕 Wanklyn became a keen sailor and angler and was particularly fond of shooting. He was also an accomplished musician. In his teenage years, his uncle's stories were still vivid and Wanklyn's desires still lay with a naval career. He attended Parkfield Preparatory School in Haywards Heath, Sussex. Academically he excelled, although he was shy and a loner, and had a propensity to avoid team games. Nevertheless, his intellectual approach to his studies won him respect amongst his fellow students and made him a popular individual.〔Allaway 2004, p. 20.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Malcolm Wanklyn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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