goinggreek.info
The Agora => Kefalonia News => Topic started by: Maik on Sunday, 21 July, 2019 @ 22:38:22
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An unknown hero of WWII is brought to light
THE PERSEUS SURVIVOR reveals the story of the World War II submarine HMS Perseus, which sank in 1941 off the Greek island of Kefalonia, and the one person who miraculously survived.
The Perseus, a British Parthian-class vessel built in 1929, was sunk by depth charges dropped from an Italian ship during a mission. On the submarine was a crew of 59 plus two passengers, one of whom was 31-year-old Navy stoker John Hawtrey Capes. When the sub sank, Capes washed up on the shore of Kefalonia, and for 18 months he hid behind enemy lines, hoping for a rescue that might never come.
After a Royal Navy operation safely brought him back, Capes received a medal for his escape. Despite this, many refused to believe his story, and an intense investigation followed years later by a research team led by American underwater researcher Richie Kohler. Kohler and his team uncovered the secrets behind the incredible events, and brought to light numerous mysteries buried in the dark waters of the Mediterranean. THE PERSEUS SURVIVOR features dramatic reconstructions and contemporary submersible footage of the wreck to bring Capes’ story to life.
https://news.wjct.org/post/unknown-hero-wwii-brought-light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Q77l3JROU
Not sure he received a medal for his exploits, though quite probably he deserved one.
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A posthumous medal maybe? This documentary appears to have been made in Malta.
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Been doing some more digging, just found a source that looks credible, states Capes was awarded a British Empire Medal (Military Division) on 14/12/43 for "outstanding courage, endurance and resource": The London Gazette (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36284/supplement/5431/data.pdf)
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Remember when the dive was done and Jimmy Mikalatos from Skala took him in his boat.Afilm was made and shown on BBCat the time.It was shown nightly in the Scandinavian Bar as was. Very interesting to see inside the sub.BBC did show a program aboiut the people who rescued him from the beach and looked after him.Think there was a coffee table book produced about the dive to prove Capes story?
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and not forgetting our very own Jean Baker's well researched publication - available from select coffee shops in Skala, and elsewhere
I thought there was reference to the booklet on GoingGreek, but can't find it. Can anyone here help?
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Books about Greece: The Sinking of HMS Perseus and the seaman who survived (http://goinggreek.info/index.php?topic=205.msg18083#msg18083)
Last I heard, Jean's been laid low for a few days following a nasty bite
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Jean's book.
(http://goinggreek.info/gallery/11_24_07_19_4_14_55.jpeg)
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MARTIN STRMISKA is a renown Scuba Diver. Last year he did a dive on HMS Perseus and wrote about it the January 2019 issue of DIVER magazine. The article was subsequently added to the DIVERNET website.
In his explanation of what happened he give what is perhaps the reason why the Admiralty didn't believe John Capes. The escape apparatus he used has pure Oxygen, and at the supposed depth, it would be fatal.
Intrigued? Here's the link to the article.
https://divernet.com/2019/01/21/the-o2-rebreather-miracle/
From the same website there's also article about a tanker that was sunk by HMS Perseus.
https://divernet.com/2019/05/21/how-i-found-125-year-old-oil-tanker-still-leaking/
There's also an auricle on Cave Diving in Kefalonia, with vivid descriptions of Melisanni Lake and it's caves, and the cave network behind Karavomilos Lake. ( I've done both these dives)
https://divernet.com/2018/02/08/where-water-flows-uphill-2/ Karavomilos Lake.