Leading Seaman John Edward Partleton
DSM H.M. Submarine Upholder
TREASURED MEMORIES OF
ALBERT
BELOVED HUSBAND OF ELIZABETH CURTIS
DIED 8TH SEPT 1946 AGED 77 YEARS
AND THE ABOVE
ELIZABETH CURTIS
DIED 15TH JUNE 1953 AGED 78 YEARS
ALSO JOHN E. PARTLETON D.S.M.
DEARLY LOVED HUSBAND OF
EDNA PARTLETON KILLED IN ACTION 18TH APRIL 1942
AGED 34 YEARS
ALSO JOHN EDWARD PARTLETON,
SON OF THE ABOVE & DEAR HUSBAND OF JOAN,
ACCIDENTALLY KILLED 9TH JULY 1960 AGED 23
CWGC tells us:
Service No: C/J 108856
Date of Death: 18/04/1942 (Most records now give 14 April as likely date of loss.)
Memorial: CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL Panel Reference: 52, 2.
Additional Information: Son of John and Edith Lily Partleton; husband of Edna Partleton, of Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire.
On 5 September 1942, the Barrow News reported:
Barrow News, 5 September 1942BARROW D.S.M. ON SUBMARINE UPHOLDER
Acting L/S Partleton, whose wife resides at 66, Lord Roberts-street, Walney, and who was awarded the D.S.M. while serving on H.M. Submarine Upholder, was among those who went down with the vessel, reported lost on 22 August.
When the award was made in January it was stated that Partleton had shown “courage, skill and resolution in successful submarine patrols.” He had served on the Upholder from when it was built. The submarine’s exploit previous to the award was to sink a large enemy troopship in the Mediterranean and, in spite of strong counter- attack by escorting destroyers, to get back safely to harbour.
Aged 32 (sic) L/S Partleton served for 15 years in the Royal Navy, being put on reserved service until a few months previous to the outbreak of war. He leaves a widow and two small sons.
Barrie Downer of the Barrow Submariners Association provided the following information:
Leading Seaman John Edward Partleton, DSM O/N J108856 (Ch) (RFR)
John Partleton was born in Wandsworth in Surrey on 11th Apr 1908 and he was the son of John and Edith Lily Partleton. He joined the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman and served in Submarines. He was serving in Submarine HMS UPHOLDER when the Italian Liners NEPTUNA and OCEANIA were attacked and sunk. He was awarded the DSM – see London Gazette dated on 18th Sep 1941. Submarine HMS UPHOLDER was sunk with all hands off the coast of Sfax in North Africa by the Italian torpedo boat PEGASO on 18th Apr 1942. John Partleton was the thirty four year old husband of Edna Partleton (nee Curtis) of Barrow in Furness in Lancashire. John and Edna were married in Barrow in Furness in the 2nd Quarter of 1935 and they had three sons, John E (born in 1936), Harry (born 1938) and Roy (born 1940 but who died on 21st Dec 1940 aged three months) at 66, Lord Roberts Street, Walney. John Partleton is commemorated on the Chatham Naval War Memorial on Panel No. 52 Column No. 2 and on the Barrow in Furness War Memorial in Victoria Park, Barrow in Furness.
Wikipedia has an interesting page, which tells us: HMS Upholder (P37) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 30 October 1939, launched on 8 July 1940 by Mrs. Doris Thompson, wife of a director of the builders. The submarine was commissioned on 31 October 1940. She was one of four U-class submarines which had two external torpedo tubes at the bows in addition to the 4 internal ones fitted to all boats. They were excluded from the other boats because they interfered with depth-keeping at periscope depth. [Source - Detailed accounts of her successes and her loss are included].
