Connell Percy Thode (11 March 1911 – 9 October 2014) was a New Zealand naval officer and yachtsman. He served in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and commanded HMS ''Scythian'', an S class submarine of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Early life

Born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1911, Thode was educated at

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

from 1925 to 1926. An accomplished yachtsman, he joined the

Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is a New Zealand yacht club, and the club behind New Zealand's America's Cup campaigns, under the guises of New Zealand Challenge and Team New Zealand. It held the America's Cup from 1995 America's Cup, 1995 ...

in 1933, and skippered the keel sloop ''Iorangi''. His skill was such that he was in contention to be a crew member on Thomas Sopwith's

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

challenge, but this did not proceed following the outbreak of World War II.

World War II service

After the war began, Thode worked his passage to the United Kingdom, where he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and served in submarines. He was appointed navigator of HMS ''Proteus'', a ''Parthian''-class submarine based in Egypt, in mid-1941. In June 1942 he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for gallant and distinguished service in successful patrols while serving on that vessel. He then was made first lieutenant aboard HMS ''Ultor'', a U-class submarine, before gaining command of HMS ''Scythian'' in late 1944. He received his second mention in despatches in November 1945. Thode was one of only three New Zealanders to command a submarine during World War II, and the only one serving in the naval reserve to do so.

Later life

Thode spent 25 years teaching young New Zealanders to sail on the training ships ''Spirit of Adventure'' and '' Spirit of New Zealand''. In the

1996 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1996 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other co ...

, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to yachting. Thode is believed to have been the oldest person to complete the

2013 New Zealand census The 2013 New Zealand census was the thirty-third national census. "The National Census Day" used for the census was on Tuesday, 5 March 2013. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,242,048, – an increase of 214,101 or 5.3% over the 20 ...

online, when aged 101 years. He died on 9 October 2014 and his funeral service was held in St Christopher's Chapel at the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland. His ashes were buried at North Shore Memorial Park in Albany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thode, Connell 1911 births 2014 deaths People from Auckland People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School New Zealand male sailors (sport) New Zealand military personnel of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand centenarians Burials at North Shore Memorial Park Men centenarians