HM Submarine Odin Memorial Room

Painting: LT. IAN MACKENZIE ANDERSON R.N. / ON R.N. SUBMARINE ODIN / SINGAPORE SEPT. 1939 Photograph: H.M. SUBMARINE ODIN / (photograph) / (names) Plaque: THIS MEMORIAL ROOM WAS DEDICATED / ON 18TH JUNE 1983, TO REPLACE THE / MEMORIAL AT GARTH YOUTH HOSTEL / OPENED IN 1951 AND CLOSED IN 1982. Document: GARTH HOUSE / YOUTH HOSTEL AND FIELD STUDIES CENTRE / ON SATURDAY 29th SEPTEMBER 1951./The Right No. the Lord Kinnaird, K.B.E., U.D.,/Lord Lieutenant of the County of Perth,/presided, and after a short Service of Dedication conducted by/the Rev W. Foot, Naval Chaplain,/the Memorial Panel in the Entrance Hall was unveiled by/Captain C.H. Hutchinson, D.S.O. O.B.E., R..N..,/commanding Third Submarine Flotilla./The Hon. Lord Keith,/on behalf of the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, received the keys from the donor,/Mrs MacKenzie Anderson/in memory of her son,/Lieutenant Ian MacKenzie Anderson R.N./and of the Officers and Men of/H.M. Submarine Odin,/Lost in battle in the/Gulf of Taranto, 13th June 1940.//After unveiling the Memorial Captain Hutchinson quoted:-/Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail,/…. nothing but well and fair,/And what may quiet us in a death so noble,/Let us..../Go fetch him hence, and solemnly attend/With silent obsequy and funeral train/Home to his father's house. Then will I build him/A monument...../With all his trophies hung, and acts unrolled,/Thither shall all the valiant youth resort,/And from his memory inflame their breasts/To matchless valour and adventures high./(John Milton)//and:-/They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; /Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,/At the going down of the sun and in the morning/We will remember them./(Laurence Binyon-For the fallen)//On Returning to the Platform, Captain Hutchinson said,/"We are here today for the opening of this magnificent building as a memorial to Lieutenant Ian Anderson and to/the Commanding Officer, brother officers and men of His Majesty's Submarine Odin./"Odin spent the early months of the war patrolling the East Indies Station in search of enemy raiders and/supply ships. She was then transferred to the Mediterranean. When Italy declared war on the 11th June 1940, Odin, on observation/patrol off Malta, was at once ordered to her war patrol area in the Gulf of Taranto. From this patrol she never returned./"The facts can never be known for certain, but from a study of Italian naval documents examined at the end of the/war, it appears that just before midnight on 13th June, 1940, the Italian destroyer STRALE sighted ODIN at close range./"The Strela fired a torpedo, and then opened fire with her guns on the submarine and turned to ram her. While/executing his turn the Italians had a narrow escape, a torpedo from the submarine just missing their stern. The Italians in/turn missed Odin with their torpedo, which probably exploded on hitting the sea bed, as they record that they heard a /dull explosion afterwards. But Odin dived, successfully foiling the enemy's endeavour to ram, and was completely submerged/when Strela passed overhead and dropped two salvoes of depth charges. Next day a large oil patch was all that remained/to mark the wreck of Odin. The shower of depth charges had ended this spirited action, and, with her hull split open, the/end must have come instantaneously for the gallant crew of the submarine./"The Captain of the Flotilla, in a written report on Odin forwarded before this final action took place stated, "I have/been most impressed with the general bearing and efficiency of Lieutenant Commander Woods and his officers and men./" I never had the privilege of knowing Ian Anderson, but I knew Lieutenant Commander Woods well and I know how true is the tribute paid to all in Odin./"Service in submarines demands mental and physical stamina, courage of a very high order and good fellowship,/combined with an ability to make quick decisions and a real sense of responsibility. These attributes are best found in/comparatively young men. How fitting, therefore, that this memorial hostel, now opened in their memory, should for/all time house people like that- comparatively young people with the spirit of adventure and the spirit of comradeship!/"To those who will make use of this hostel, I would say, Remember that it is as a result of youth's sacrifice in war/that you are able to enjoy the freedom of this building amidst its peaceful and beautiful surroundings. You will also, I know,/think with gratitude of the generosity of Mrs Anderson and the Scottish Youth Hostels Association in making this centre available./"To the relatives of the Officers and Men of Odin may I say that you have cause to be proud of the men whom/you miss, but whom you have not lost and will never lose. What better encouragement can they have than the words/quoted in an Empire broadcast by our own beloved King?/And I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,/Give me a light that I may tread safely into the Unknown,/And he replied,/Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God,/That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."/(Louise Hoskins) Roll of Honour: THE UNDERMENTIONED OFFICERS AND MEN OF H.M. SUBMARINE/"ODIN"/WERE KILLED IN ACTION WITH THE ITALIAN DESTROYER "STRALE"/ON THE NIGHT OF 13TH JUNE 1940, IN THE GULF OF TARANTO/[53 names]