THE VICTORIA CROSS GROUP AWARDED TO PETTY OFFICER THOMAS GROULD, ROYAL NAVY ( HM SUBMARINE 'THRASHER' ) HAS FOUND A NEW LOCATION IN THE JEWISH MUSEUM IN NORTH LONDON.
14 October 2015


( select to enlarge )
Medal entitlement of Petty Officer Thomas Gould,
Royal Navy ( HM Submarine 'Thrasher' )

  • Victoria Cross
  • 1939-45 Star
  • Atlantic Star
  • Africa Star + clasp "North Africa 1942-43"
  • War Medal + MiD Oakleaf
  • Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )
  • Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ( 1977 )


Thomas Gould's Victoria Cross medal group was sold at a Sotheby's auction on the 29th October 1987 for a hammer price of £44,000 and was purchased by the Association of Jewish Ex-Service Men and Women based in Hendon, North London. The VC group was later donated to the Jewish Military Museum, also located in Hendon, which featured exhibits about Jews serving in the British armed forces from the 18th Century to the present.

The Jewish Military Museum has now closed and the museum's artifacts, including the Thomas Gould Victoria Cross group, have been installed in the Jewish Museum's 'History Gallery' which is based in Raymond Burton House, Albert Street, North London.


For the award of the Victoria Cross

[ London Gazette, 9 June 1942 ], Sea of Crete, 16 February 1942, Petty Officer Thomas William Gould, Royal Navy.

On 16th February, in daylight, H.M. Submarine Thrasher attacked and sank a heavily escorted supply ship. She was at once attacked by depth charges and was bombed by aircraft. The presence of two unexploded bombs in the gun casing was discovered when after dark the submarine surfaced and began to roll.

Lieutenant Roberts and Petty Officer Gould volunteered to remove the bombs, which were of a type unknown to them. The danger in dealing with the second bomb was very great. To reach it they had to go through the casing which was so low that they had to lie at full length to move in it. Through this narrow space, in complete darkness, they pushed and dragged the bomb for a distance of some 20 feet until it could be lowered over the side. Every time the bomb was moved there was a loud twanging noise as of a broken spring which added nothing to their peace of mind.

This deed was the more gallant as HMS Trasher's presence was known to the enemy: she was close to the enemy coast, and in waters where his patrols were known to be active day and night. There was a very great chance, and they knew it, that the submarine might have to crash-dive while they were in the casing. Had this happened they must have been drowned.

Thomas Gould was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace in March 1943.


The action by Lieutenant Roberts and Petty Officer Gould not only saved their submarine from a situation of great peril but allowed her to continue her operational patrol. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross for their coolness and gallantry in close proximity to the enemy.

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Iain Stewart, 14 October 2015