British Royal Navy, Submarine Movement Cards

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Was your ancestor a British submariner in the first half of the 20th century? These records trace the movements and postings of Royal Navy submariners from the First World War through to the Cold War, documenting where individuals served and when. Created by the Admiralty, submarine movement cards record a sailor’s attachment to specific submarines, shore bases, and depots, often noting dates of joining and leaving each posting. They reflect the highly mobile and closely managed nature of submarine service, with personnel frequently moving between boats, training establishments, and refit periods. For family historians, these cards help reconstruct an ancestor’s submarine career, clarify gaps in service records, and place individual service within the wider operational history of Britain’s underwater fleet. Created in partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

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First name

Last name

Ship name

Depot

Dates of service

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British submarines in the First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War, the Royal Navy’s submarine service was still relatively young, experimental, and often viewed with suspicion by senior naval officers raised on battleships and big-gun warfare. British submarines were small, uncomfortable, and dangerous to operate, yet they quickly proved their strategic value. They were used for coastal defence, reconnaissance, and offensive patrols in the North Sea, Baltic, and Mediterranean, where they disrupted enemy shipping and naval movements. British boats also played a crucial role in countering German surface forces and gathering intelligence, even as crews faced high risks from mechanical failure, mines, depth charges, and the ever-present danger of being trapped underwater. By 1918, submarines had demonstrated that undersea warfare would be a permanent and increasingly important part of modern naval strategy.

British submarines in the Second World War

During the Second World War, British submarines became a central weapon in Britain’s naval war, operating across vast theatres including the North Sea, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, and Far East. Unlike their German counterparts, which focused heavily on commerce raiding in the Atlantic, British submarines were often tasked with attacking enemy warships, interdicting supply routes, landing agents, and supporting special operations. Advances in technology—such as improved sonar, radar, torpedoes, and communications, made submarines more capable but did not remove the dangers of service. Casualty rates remained high, and patrols were long, isolated, and psychologically demanding. Submariners formed a distinct elite within the Royal Navy, bound by skill, secrecy, and a shared understanding that survival was never guaranteed.

HMS Stonehenge

HMS Stonehenge was an S-class submarine commissioned during the Second World War, part of a class designed for operations in confined and shallow waters such as the Mediterranean. After entering service in 1943, Stonehenge was deployed to the Mediterranean theatre, where British submarines were heavily engaged in attacking Axis shipping and supporting Allied operations. In early 1944, Stonehenge failed to return from patrol off the coast of Italy and was presumed lost with all hands, most likely the victim of enemy anti-submarine warfare. Her disappearance reflects the stark realities of submarine service: losses were often sudden, unexplained, and absolute, leaving families and the Admiralty with little more than a final patrol date and a name added to the list of the missing.