A diary of events  - The command of Lt. William Saint George Anderson

Taken from notes written by a member of the crew.

27 December 1943: Left Birkenhead for the Holy Loch to commence trials, 'Sturdy' was officially completed on 29 December 1943 and accepted by the Royal Navy for operational service.

'Sturdy' now started her working-up period with practices and A/S training, Detachments were made to Arrochar, Campbeltown and Larne during this period and the training culminated in a working-up patrol.

16 March 1944: Left the Holy Loch for a working-up patrol off Stadtlandet on the Norwegian coast She was to take part in OPERATION FOREMOST and had to patrol in a wailing position off the Norwegian coast This appears to have been an attempt to meet a Norwegian fishing vessel presumably for intelligence purposes. The operation was cancelled on 20 March 194'~ and 'Sturdy' moved to patrol line HH lo establish an anti U-boat patrol.

18 March 1944: Sighted a T -class submarine on the surface. This was subsequently identified as HMS/m 'Truant'.

20 March 1944: Heard a submarine blowing main ballast, then H.E, (Hydrophone effect. In this case it was probably propeller and motor or engine noises.) Just before surfacing. This was probably HMS/m VOX in the adjacent patrol position.

There were no sightings during the anti U-boat patrol. The working-up patrol was usually in a quiet area and was intended to give the new crew experience of patrol conditions and routine. It was uneventful. .1 April 1944: Returned to the Holy Loch.

14 April 1944: Left the Holy Loch for passage to Trincoml1lce to join the 8th Submarine Flotilla for operational service in the Far East.

3 June 1944: Arrived m Trincomalee. 'Sturdy' completed seven operational  patrols in the Far East. The first two patrols were from Trincomalee but the second patrol terminated at Freml1ntlc in Australia. The remaining five patrols were all from Freemantle with the last terminating al Trincomalee as part of her homeward passage.

21 June 1944: Left Trincomalee for patrol off the West coast of Thailand. (1st Far East patrol).

25 June 1944: Fired four torpedoes al a 1,200 Ion coaster all of which missed. The single escorting motor launch counter-attacked with depth charges none of  which, were close.

30 June 1944: Boarded a.30 ton junk and sank it by demolition charge. The crew were taken prisoner.

4 Ju1y: 1944: A medium sized tug towing two 100 ton lighters was attacked and all three craft were sunk by gunfire. Later in the day three torpedoes were fired at a second tug towing a landing craft. The torpedoes ran under but both Craft were then sunk by gunfire. This action left 'Sturdy' with only 11 rounds of star shell.

6 July 1944: A 50 ton junk was boarded and sunk by demolition charge. Later the same day the Kantang - Phuket ferry was sunk using the remaining 11 rounds of star shell fired at the waterline. The ferry flooded through the shell holes and capsized.

7 July 1944: Two junks. 30 tons and 87 tons, were sunk with the last remaining demolition charges.

14 July 1944: Returned to Trincomalee,

7 August 1944: Left Trincomalee for patrol off the West coast or Burma. (2nd Far East patrol).

I4 August 1944: Dived to avoid two A/S vessels and shortly afterwards opened fire on two 150 ton coasters in Forrest Strait. Both coasters were Sunk and one Japanese prisoner was taken.

19 August 1944: Reconnoitered Hastings Harbour.

27 August 1944: Sank a 150 ton ocean going fishing vessel by demolition charge. Two prisoners were taken.

6 September 1944: Arrived m Fremantle,

26 September 1944: Left Fremantle for patrol in the Flores Sel1 south of Celebes. (3rd Far East patrol).

29 September 1944: Called al Exmouth Gulf for fuel. Her route led her through the Ombai Strat into the Flores Sea.

8 October 1944: Sank a 300 ton coaster by gunfire. A shore battery opened fire on 'Sturdy' but caused no damage.

13 October 1944: Sunk a 350 ton coaster by gunfire. Later that day, south of Pomala, a total of six 150 ton schooners carrying nickel-ore were boarded and sunk by demolition charge.

14 October 1944: Sunk a 300 ton coaster by gunfire. She took one prisoner. Later in the day a 150 ton schooner was sunk by demolition charge.

15 October 1944: Two 150 ton schooners carrying nickel-ore were boardcd and sunk by demolition charge,

16 October 1944: Gun action with an anti-submarine trawler. There were no hits and 'Sturdy' had to dive when the return fire became too hot A Counter-attack followed in which severa1 depth charges were dropped well away from 'Sturdy'.

24 October 1944: Arrived m Fremantle.

12 November 1944: Left Fremantle for patrol in the Java Sea. (4th Far East patrol).

19 November 1944: Fuelled at Darwin. She arrived in her area off south east Borneo, near the Laut Islands, by way of Timor on 25 November 1944.

25 November 1944: Sank a 350 ton coaster by gunfire and demolition charge.

26 November 1944: Sunk an 80 ton schooner and a 100 ton trading prlau by demolition charge.

27 November 1944: Commenced an attack on a 600 ton schooner but ran agroumd at periscope depth and did not fire.

29 November 1944: Sank two 80 ton armed luggers by gunfire after a brisk battle north of Surabaya. Later that same day she destroyed the cargo of lubricating oil of a prau but did not sink the ship.

30 November 1944: Boarded a trading prau. The papcrs were taken but the vessel was allowed to proceed.

1 December 1944: Fired Two torpedoes at a 400 ton coaster camouflaged with foliage. The first torpedo missed ahead and the second was seen and avoided. The submarine then surfaced and the target was sunk by gunfire,

2 December 1944: Sank a 300 ton Japanese Naval Auxiliary by gunfire and demolition charge in very sha1low water off  Pare Pare Bay. One  prisoner was taken. 'Sturdy' dived after reaching deep water. The dive was in slow time but shortly afterwards it was discovered that one of the  lookouts, who had been on the periscope standards, was apparently missing. 'Sturdy' surfaced once and searched for ten minutes in a calm sea until an aircraft forced her to dive. The search was later continued until dusk without success.

5 December 1944: Sunk a 40 ton yawl laden with rice by demolition charge near the Lanki Islands.

7 December 1944: 'Sturdy' was bombed by aircraft while at periscope depth and suffered minor damage to her lights.

15 December 1944: Arrived at Freemantle having returned from patrol via the Lombok Straits, The Captain of the 8th Submarine Flotilla commented:- "The Commanding Officer has on every one of his five patrols shown a readiness to take risks and face danger….to damage the enemy".

HMS Sturdy
On Far East Patrol

HMS Sturdy
Sheerness August 1945