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William Waller
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Serving aboard Holland 1
Serving aboard Holland I
HM Submarine Torpedo Boat Number 1 (Holland I) had a crew
of nine. These included the Captain (Lieutenant), Second Captain (Sub
Lieutenant), Diving Coxswain (Petty Officer), Torpedo Instructor (Petty
Officer), Chief Engineering Artificer, Leading Stoker, Stoker, Leading Seaman
and Able Seaman.
Photo of Holland I under way in harbour (RNSM)
All the boat's tanks and machinery were contained within the pressure hull. Conditions inside the submarine were therefore very cramped for the crew.
William Waller served as a Diving Coxswain. He would have had numerous duties onboard a small submarine such as Holland I. He was responsible for matters of discipline and administration of the small crew.
He would also have steered the craft both on the service and when submerged. Waller would have sat on the low conning tower when the submarine was on the surface, manoeuvring by means of a small wheel.
The Holland boats were difficult to control when surfaced because of the lack of structure outside the hull. Waller would have had difficulty hanging on to the wheel and masts while on deck with water washing around his feet.
Waller would climb down the hatch into the boat when the boat went to diving stations in order to test the diving rudders and check the pressure of air in the reservoirs. He would then have sat on an unfolded camp stool and checked the depth gauges, as well as manning the steering and diving rudders.
Painting of interior of Holland I (RNSM)
Waller assisted with various sea trials during 1902 and 1903 in places such as the Irish Sea. There were numerous dummy attacks by the Holland boats on HMS Hazard and other target ships.
Holland I had a single 14 inch torpedo tube and it made its first successful torpedo attack on HMS Hazard on 9th March 1903. It made its first successful attack on a moving target, again HMS Hazard, by May. These trials proved that the submarine could remain undetected to within 1000 yards of a ship, the distance needed in order to fire its torpedoes.
Holland 1 leaving Portsmouth with about 7 crew members on deck, 1903. (RNSM)
Holland I survived a programme of anti-submarine experiments conducted by the Navy's Torpedo School during the autumn of 1903. They attempted to use underwater explosives against the submarine, but the failure of these experiments convinced Captain Bacon and the Board of Admiralty that submarines were able to effectively withstand such attacks.
The Holland boats were extremely primitive and the crews had to cope with an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous environment. Even so, none of the five Holland boats were lost or suffered any fatalities during their naval service. This success is a credit to the efforts of Waller and the other crew members.
