The British naval submarine HMS E18 was found in October on the sea bed close to the Estonian island of Dago by a Swedish marine survey company, after having been missing for over 90 years

IN October the wreck of a First World War submarine, E18, was located in the Baltic by the Swedish survey vessel, the MV Triad.

The sub sank, probably on 2 June 1916, having struck a German mine, and was lost with all hands.

Among the 31 officers and ratings on board was leading seaman Ernest William Ruaux, an Islander from St Martin.

Ernest Ruaux, who was born in March 1883, first joined the Royal Navy as a boy, in 1899, signing on to undertake 12 years’ service after his 18th birthday.

He left the Navy in March 1913 and joined the reserves, but was called back to serve when war broke out in 1914.

Information provided to the Channel Islands Great War Study Group by Cheryl Garcia-Martinez indicates that he left a wife, Clara, and four young daughters.

E18 belonged to a class of submarine which was among the most successful British designs developed in time for the First World War.

She was part of a small flotilla sent to the Baltic by Winston Churchill, a member of the War Cabinet, to disrupt German shipments of iron ore from Sweden.

Having entered the Baltic through the narrow and hazardous straits between Sweden and Denmark, E 18 headed for the Russian port of Reval – now Tallinn, the capital of Estonia – and began operations 25 May 1916.

The following day she is reported to have sunk a German ship, but saw no more action before hitting the mine.

In spite of the shallow waters in the Baltic, which offered little shelter for submarines dodging enemy pursuit, E18 was the only member of the flotilla to be lost in action.

After the sub’s sinking, Tsar Nicholas of Russia awarded posthumous medals to the crew, in recognition of the risks they took and the bravery they demonstrated.

Even sailing in a First World War sub was an act of courage. There was only one bunk, shared in turn byo the three officers, and the ratings slept wherever they could.

Lavatory arrangements consisted of buckets, which, clearly, could be emptied only when the vessel was able to surface.

Also, even in late spring, the Baltic waters were cold and the interior of the hull usually dripped with condensation.

E18 lies off the Estonian island of Hiiumma and is in a remarkable state of preservation.
The 181-ft hull is intact and a remotely operated vehicle has revealed that a hatch is open, suggesting that the vessel was on the surface when she hit the mine.

It is thought that the cool brackish water of the Baltic and the low levels of oxygen in its deeper waters have prevented excessive corrosion.

Ernest Ruaux is commemorated on the Naval Memorial at Portsmouth, but because of an error made in the first Jersey Roll of Honour, published in 1919, he is remembered twice on the St Martin war memorial, once as E W Ruaux and once as E W Quaux.