Out of the seventy-five crew on board Affray, Steward Ray Vincent was the least experienced with just one week’s submarine training under his belt. The only son of elderly parents from Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Vincent had joined the Navy after leaving school at the age of 15. Vincent was one of two wardroom stewards lost on Affray – the other was Leading Steward James Barlow. They had been detailed to work alongside the submarine’s cook, Bob Smith.
It was while serving in Londonderry on the Loch Class frigate HMS Woodbridge Haven in December 1950 that Vincent had appeared before a Board of Inquiry charged with ‘causing malicious damage’ to the ship while in harbour. Vincent had gone ashore alone on 23 December and returned to the ship after closing time where he began sabotaging the quarterdeck. It is not recorded if Vincent had downed one pre-Christmas drink too many on top of his rum ration and begun damaging the ship in a drunken state or if his behaviour was due to other reasons. Either way, he was spotted by the duty watch who managed to overpower him and march him down to the ship’s guardroom, where he remained under supervision until the Woodbridge Haven returned to Portland early in 1951.
A Board of Inquiry recommended that Vincent be transferred to HM Barracks at Chatham, where his arrival was registered on 15 February. Within days of arriving, Vincent had volunteered for service in submarines and his records were routinely checked at HMS Dolphin. No mention of damaging a Royal Naval ship appears to have been made.
Vincent joined his submarine training class on 9 April and had undertaken only one week’s instruction when he was detailed to serve on Affray during Exercise Training Spring. This would be his first experience of going inside a submarine, let alone going to sea in one as part of a demanding wartime training exercise. Because of the large number of officers on board, an additional steward was needed to work alongside Leading Steward Barlow. It was felt that serving on Affray would be a good idea and it was designed to become an integral part of Vincent’s submarine training. The only other submarine instruction undertaken by Vincent at this time was DSEA submarine escape training, which had taken place in a large tank at HMS Dolphin during the week of 9 April.
A note from Rear Admiral Raw to the Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth dated 28 April 1951, states that ‘quite correctly’ Vincent’s service documents
did not indicate in any way that he was unsuitable for service in submarines. In checking Vincent’s papers, no one in HMS Dolphin or Flag Officer Submarines’ Drafting Office could have known there was a special reason why Vincent should not be employed in submarines, since Vincent had not previously served in submarines and no previous drafting records concerning him were held.
A note in Vincent’s file from Casper Swinley, Captain-in-Charge, Portland, states: ‘When the time comes for investigating the causes of the sinking of Affray, it might be of importance to refer to the minutes of the Board of Inquiry held to investigate sabotage to HMS Woodbridge Haven by Steward R. Vincent.’
Is it possible that Steward Ray Vincent had in some way been responsible for causing damage to Affray, contributing to the death of the entire crew – including himself? And what was the ‘special reason why Vincent should not be employed in submarines’ that Rear Admiral Raw referred to in his note to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth?
Other notes in Vincent’s file from unidentified naval personnel state that this theory was improbable. But personnel had been asked to consider the possibility. A response from the Director of Naval Intelligence states: ‘Of the many possible explanations of the disaster which has come to my notice, sabotage by this rating is considered to be the least likely.’
Asked if Vincent might have attempted to sabotage the submarine and the theory exploited as a possible reason for the disaster, another officer states: ‘It is probably too good to be true and the cause of the sinking may well have a less dramatic explanation. It is not probable he would have sabotaged Affray at the cost of his own life?’ But who knows what kind of mental state Steward Ray Vincent was in when Affray put to sea on 16 April or how the young steward, with just one week’s training under his belt, was coping during his first experience in a submarine submerged and full of strangers?