Lieutenant John Reid

Lieutenant John Stewart Gilchrist Reid, DSC , Royal Naval Reserve. He was lost at sea, aged 33, aboard H.M. Submarine “L55″  in the Baltic Sea on 4th June 1919 fighting against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.  He had become a midshipman in the Naval Reserve in 1906 and was a member of the Merchant Navy serving in the South Pacific. He was promoted Sub Lieutenant in the Reserve in 1913 and on the outbreak of War served aboard the cruiser H.M.S.” Roxburgh”.  He transferred to the submarine service in January 1915 and was awarded his Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in July 1918. The boat was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Charles Chapman, D.S.C and was lost when being attacked by  two Russian destroyers in Korposkaya Bay on the coast of Estonia. He had been born in Foulden and was the son of The Rev. John and Martha Reid of Foulden Manse.He was the husband of Irene Reid of Morpeth Mansions , London. In August 1928 the boat was salvaged by the Russians, the bodies of 42 crew members were recovered and returned to Britain to be buried in a communal grave at Haslar Royal Navy Cemetery, Portsmouth. ( The submarine pictured is a sister “L” Class Boat  L26 ). The Russians concluded the loss was due to mine damage and after it was salvaged it was subsequently commissioned into the Russian Navy.