Trafford

Born during the June quarter 1908 in the Bucklow R.D. - ref: 8a/209, the
son of William Charles & Amy Constance Dunkerley (nee Gaddum).

1911 Census - Meadow Lands, Mere, Near Knutsford, Cheshire.    Son (listed
as DONALD) - aged: 5 - born: Mere.    Head of household - William Charles
Dunkerley - Married - aged: 40 - occ: Iron Merchant - born: Bowdon.   Also
Amy Dunkerley - Wife - aged: 32 - born: Bowdon.   Plus 2 elder Brothers & 5
domestic Servants.

Married Jessy G.F. Bayly during the March quarter 1940 in the Chelsea R.D.
- ref: 1a/1189.   Jessy was born in London in 1911.

William was the captain of H.M. Submarine Thames, which was presumed lost
off Norway after striking a mine.    She was on her first war patrol when
she went missing, having sailed from Dundee on 22nd July 1940 on a North
Sea patrol. 

On the 22nd July HMS Thames successfully attacked the German torpedo boat -
'Luchs' just west of the Skagerrak.  The 'Luchs' was acting as part of a
screen for the battle cruiser Gneisenau, which is believed to been her
original target, and that the 'Luchs' had manoeuvred between the submarine
and the battle cruiser just as the former fired her torpedoes.    The
shortened range and the ensuing explosions may have been the cause of the
loss of the Thames although the favoured opinion is that the submarine
struck a mine on the night of 2nd /3rd August.

There is a memorial to the submarine and the men lost in her at HMS Ambrose
which was a shore based establishment, a Royal Navy submarine base located
at Dundee Harbour which served as the headquarters and home port of the 9th
Submarine Flotilla from 1940 to 1946. The flotilla was an international
force comprised of British units along with Free French, Dutch, Norwegian
and Polish crews after those countries had been overrun by the Nazis. From
the summer of 1944, Russian submarine crews were also to be found at
Dundee. 

Lieutenant-Commander William Donald "Dunks" Dunkerley produced a book of
poems - here is one of them
 
 Though still upon our pennies in sedentary repose
 Britannia holds her trident up against our ill-bred foes,
 This weapon, shield, and helmet are rather out of date,
 They’ve changed her furniture a lot, especially of late.
 The spear, of course, became a gun, four hundred years ago,
 Her shield has now been armour plate a century or so,
 They multiply and multiply her weapons every year,
 And in their minds the specialists each hang her round with gear,
 Each one of them imagines he can see Britannia sit
 With the weapons of his choosing, and it matters not one whit
 That to some she’s wearing gaiters, and a gas mask on her head,
 While others see her trident as a marline spike instead.
 She had some nasty patches though, when men began to slip
 From basic bedrock principles, which make a fighting ship.
 How bad the days, now past, were, only Britannia knows,
 Her shield became a paintpot, and her spear a length of hose,
 For some the waves were really ruled upon the playing field,
 For them she held a cricket bat, and shin pads for a shield.
 But now once more she’s ready, and a dangerous girl to meet.
 With a mine placed for a cushion, and a depth charge at her feet.
 
 So rule the waves, Britannia, and you still look just as grand
 Upon a turbine casing, with a spanner in your hand.
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 Britannia Up-To-Date, from the Groping Poet
 Lieutenant-Commander W D Dunkerley, HMS Thames