Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen, (8 October 1891 – 5 November 1940) was a

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 ...

officer and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen was born into a naval family, one of four children his father being Vice-Admiral F. F. Fegen MVO. He was born at 42 Nightingale Rd, Southsea, Hampshire, on 8 October 1891. At the age of 12, he entered Osborne Royal Naval College and in 1909, he was appointed

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

on HMS ''Dreadnought''.

First World War

On 24 March 1918, while the British ship SS ''War Knight'' was proceeding up the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

in convoy, she collided with the United States oil carrier ''O.B. Jennings''. It appears that the

naphtha Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ''n ...

, which was on board the latter vessel, ignited, and the two ships and surrounding water were soon enveloped in flames. The master of ''O.B. Jennings'' gave orders that all the ship's available boats should be lowered, those on the starboard side were burnt, and the crew abandoned the ship in the port boats, whilst the master, chief engineer, chief officer and three others remained on board. , under the command of Lieutenant Fegen, with other destroyers, were proceeding to the spot to render assistance, when it was seen that one boat which had been lowered from ''O.B. Jennings'' had been swamped. ''Garland'' closed with ''O.B. Jennings'', rescued the men from the swamped boat, and then proceeded alongside the ship, which was still blazing, and rescued those who were still on board. She afterwards proceeded to pick up the others who had left the ship in boats, rescuing in all four officers and twenty-two men. Lieutenant Fegen handled his ship in a very able manner under difficult conditions during the rescue of the survivors, while Quartermaster Driscoll worked the helm and saw that all orders to the engine-room were correctly carried out, and his actions during this rescue resulted in both being awarded Silver

Sea Gallantry Medal The Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM) (officially the 'Medal for Saving Life at Sea', and originally the ' Board of Trade Medal for Saving Life at Sea'), is a United Kingdom award for civil gallantry at sea. History The Merchant Shipping Act 1854 pr ...

Interwar service

A little later in his naval career, Fegen was seconded to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, and during 1928–29, served as executive officer in the

Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...

, which was located on

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, said to possess the whitest sand in the world. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia ...

on the south coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. By coincidence, the vessel on which he later achieved fame (and death) was named after this bay.

Second World War

He was 49 years old, and an acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

during the

Second World War 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 ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 5 November 1940 in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, Captain Fegen, commanding the

armed merchantman An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

, was escorting 38 ships of

Convoy HX 84 Convoy HX 84 was the 84th of the numbered series of Allied North Atlantic HX convoys of merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool, England, during the Battle of the Atlantic. Thirty-eight ships escorted by the armed merchant cruise ...

, when they were attacked by the German

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

(often termed a "pocket battleship"). Captain Fegen immediately engaged the enemy head-on, thus giving the ships of the

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

time to scatter. Out-gunned and on fire ''Jervis Bay'' maintained the unequal fight for 22 minutes, although the captain's right arm was shattered, and even after he died when the bridge was shot from under him. He went down with his ship but 31 ships of the convoy managed to escape – including . He was remembered in

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's broadcast speech on 13 May 1945 "Five years of War", as having defended Ireland's honour: The citation for Fegen's Victoria Cross was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' on 22 November 1940, reading:

In popular culture

Issue #47 of the comic book ''

Hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

'' by

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dari ...

and John McCrea (comics), John McCrea contains a fictionalized account of Fegen's last battle and the sinking of the ''Jervis Bay''.

References

*Connel, G.G., (1987) ''Mediterranean Maelstrom: H. M. S. "Jervis" and the 14th Flotilla'', William Kimber, London *Edwards, Bernard, (2013) ''Convoy Will Scatter: The Full Story of Jervis Bay and Convoy HX84'', Pen and Sword, *Pollock, George, (1958) ''The Jervis Bay'', William Kimber, London

External links

Commander E.S Fogarty Fegen
in ''The Art of War'' exhibition at the National Archives (UK), UK National Archives
Captain Fegan and HMS "Jervis Bay"
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*[http://hmsjervisbay.com HMS Jervis Bay] {{DEFAULTSORT:Fegen, Edward Stephen Fogarty 1891 births 1940 deaths People from Southsea British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy officers of World War I Irish World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Sea Gallantry Medal Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II People lost at sea Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross English people of Irish descent Captains who went down with the ship Military personnel from Portsmouth