To compete against the combined threat from enemy forces, Britain relied heavily on the Royal Navy, which at the time was considered the strongest navy in the world. Join us as we revisit a time when a world was at war and ordinary people provided extraordinary service at sea in the name of their country and the greater good.
‘… we shall fight on the seas and oceans …’
Winston Churchill
Ian Edward Fraser
Born in Ealing in 1920, Ian Fraser began his maritime career in 1938 in the Merchant Navy. From there, Fraser joined the Royal Naval Reserve in 1939, serving on several destroyers before joining the submarine HMS Sahib in April, 1942.
His aptitude and fortitude were evident immediately and earned him the Distinguished Service Cross for his ‘bravery and skill in successful submarine patrols’ that same year. By the age of 24, he had worked his way up to the rank of Lieutenant.
Moving over to X-class vessels, Fraser served on submarine depot ship HMS Bonaventure for eight months, before he was selected as the commanding officer of His Majesty’s Midget Submarine XE-3 and tasked with carrying out an attack on the Japanese cruiser Takao. On 31 July 1945, after successfully navigating through a lengthy stretch of mine-laden waters between Singapore and Malaya, XE-3 encountered its target.
Sliding the submarine along the seabed to squeeze right underneath the enemy vessel, Fraser and his crew placed limpet mines on the Takao and dropped the main side charge, disrupting the Japanese ship in the process. Following the attack, the sub rendezvoused with HMS Stygian, where Fraser and his crew were relieved of their duties after approximately 50 hours without sleep.
On 13 November 1945, both Fraser and his diver James Magennis were awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery and determination, with Fraser subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Commander in March 1951 when he was an Officer in the Royal Naval Reserve.
Audrey Sylvia Coningham
Born in Sussex, England, on 12 July 1918, Audrey Sylvia Coningham spent her early childhood as part of a farming family before relocating to New South Wales in Australia where she worked as a ranch hand. When the war was declared, she returned home in 1940 and joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). As part of the 1st Submarine Squadron, she rose up the ranks to Third Officer.
In 1942, Coningham found herself on board HMS Medway, a 15,000-tonne submarine depot ship when it was torpedoed by German submarine U-372 during a crossing from Alexandria to Haifa, which resulted in hundreds of service personnel being launched into the sea.
Coningham, one of three members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) on board, attempted to swim to safety but the volume of people in the water made rescue en masse near impossible.
Whilst swimming to an alternative point of safety, she encountered two men clinging together in the water. Only one of the men had a lifebelt and he was supporting the other who was struggling to stay afloat in the choppy seas. Despite swimming for approximately 30 minutes, Coningham selflessly gave her own lifebelt to the man without one, providing him with a literal lifeline before his eventual rescue.
Following this, Coningham swam to the destroyer Zulu, where she was eventually rescued from the water after another 20 minutes adrift. Despite her heroic actions, Coningham was unjustly denied the George Cross and instead awarded a publicised mention in despatches as a paltry consolation. She was the only woman decorated for bravery at sea during the Second World War.
As we celebrate these extraordinary acts, we remember and pay tribute to the service given by those during the war through their personal stories and experiences through the Stories of the Second World War 2025 UK Coin.
MARKING HISTORIC MOMENTS
Imperial War Museums records and tells the stories of those who have lived,
fought and died in conflict since 1914. © IWM
With thanks to Imperial War Museums for their assistance in this project.
