Themes
Philip Boulnois
1939 - 1945 Star
Awarded to Lieutenant Commander Philip H W Boulnois.
1939-45 Star (RNM)
Philip Boulnois served as a Sub Lieutenant onboard the mine laying submarine, HMS Seal, during World War Two.
HMS Seal struck a mine during a mission in the Kattegat bay of the North Sea on 29th April 1940. A German aircraft spotted the submarine when it surfaced. The boat was unable to dive and the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rupert Lonsdale, made the decision to surrender. The Germans repaired the damaged submarine and then commissioned it into the German Navy. They decommissioned the submarine the following year as it was of little military value.
The Germans took the crew members as prisoners of war and interred them at Marlag camp in Germany. Boulnois spent the rest of the war as a POW at Marlag.
Postcard from the German Authorities (RNM)
Postcard Sent by Philip Boulnois to his Mother (RNM)
Drawing of Marlag camp by Boulnois (RNM)
