In memory of
Sub-Lt Alexander D. Gibson-Carmichael
H.M. S/M “E16” Royal Navy
†August 22nd 1915, age 21
Son of John and Amy Gibson, Maida Vale, London
Remembered with honour at
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
Alexander David Gibson Carmichael was born at North Berwick on the 10th February, 1895. His father was John Murray, son of William Carmichael of Castle Craig and Skirling, in the County of Peeblesshire. At the age of two, Sandy, as he came to be known by all his friends, went with his mother to Iowa, in America, to join his father, who had at that time settled there. In 1899, when his mother died, Sandy and his two sisters came back to this country, and spent the early years of their lives first at Castle Craig, and later on at Malleny, in Midlothian, with their uncle and aunt. It was when he was about five that he made up his mind to go into the Navy, and from that time he never swerved from his intention. He joined the Royal Navy in 1912 and he was present at the action of Heligoland Bight on May 29th, 1914, and Dogger Bank on January 21st, 1915. In December 1915 he wrote to his aunt, – “I have had the best Xmas present I have ever had in my life, I have been appointed to Submarine E16.” The E16 went down off the German coast on 22nd August 1916 with the loss of 31 men.
DIVERS LOCATE BRITISH WWI E16 SUBMARINE MISSING FOR 85 YEARS
GERMANY (1 Sep 2001) -- An 85-year-old mystery is closer to being solved after divers found the wreck of a British submarine that vanished during the First World War. It has been identified as the ill-fated E16 which disappeared with the loss of 31 lives. Underwater cameraman and divers on the expedition Sascha Kellersohn believe it had been torpedoed or mined in the North Sea. German hobby diver Rolf Schuett found the wreck earlier this year, 16 sea miles off the German coast at Helgoland when he located the propellers bearing the number E16. British authorities have confirmed the identification from photos and film footage but have been unable to identify another wreck found nearby. The E16 left Blyth, Northumbria, in 1916 on a mission to find and destroy German submarines. Mr Kellersohn said it was unlikely it would be raised as working conditions were difficult. "The E16 was a huge ship for its time - it was 60 metres long and seven metres wide. Even though it has been down there for 80 years it's nearly perfect."