In tribute to the late Commander Bill King, a group of 120 former submariners visited his home at Oranmore Castle, Co Galway, last week, where they planted a “tree of peace”.
The visit was hosted by Commander King’s daughter, Leonie, and grandson Cian Finn, and was organised by the International Submariners Association (ISA), a fellowship involving active and former submariners from 28 different countries.
The late Commander King is regarded as a hero by the ISA, given that he was the only person to be in command of a British submarine on both the first and last days of the second world war.
He served in three Royal Navy submarines – Snapper, Trusty and Telemachus, and patrolled the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Far East.
Commander King’s daughter, Leonie, and grandson Cian Finn at the visit to Oranmore Castle (below) by the International Submariners Association
Leonie King said the ISA delegation took a day out from their congress in Dublin to visit the west of Ireland. She had been invited to an ISA congress in Sicily in 2013.
The former submariners from north America, Australia, France, Korea and a number of European countries viewed some of her father’s memorabilia.
A “tree of peace” was planted next to an original peace tree planted in 2004 at Oranmore Castle by Akira Tsurukame, whose father perished on board 1-166, and Katja Boonstra-Blom, whose father died when the 1-166 sank the Dutch submarine K XVI.
Both men had visited Commander King in 2004 as an act of reconciliation. King’s submarine Telemachus had sunk the Japanese submarine 1-166 in 1944.
Leonie King said that the after the new tree was planted, the Ukrainian submariners who made the initial dig sang their version of The Beatles number “Yellow Submarine”.
Her son, musician Cian Finn, also sang “Survive”, which he had composed and sang last year during the 50th anniversary of his grandfather’s return from a solo circumnavigation of the world on his yacht Galway Blazer II.
After the war, King took to sailing and hunting, and became the oldest participant in the non-stop solo round the world yacht race, the Sunday Times Golden Globe race.
Commander King’s experiences on Galway Blazer II – and the impact on his family when he was declared missing for a time - were recalled in interviews for Afloat with Leonie King and Galway Bay Sailing Club former commodore Johnny Shorten last year.
Objects and memorabilia relating to the voyage were also exhibited in Galway City Museum.
Photos from the ISA visit are courtesy of GK Media in Galway and are taken from a documentary currently in production focusing on Leonie and her father, Commander King.
