Sea Lions and the Great War, 1914-1918 (Another first for Ramsgate)

The Woodward family were known for their music hall entertainment. The father, James Woodward, was born in Ramsgate in 1851 and died in 1933. He is now part resting in Ramsgate cemetery under what is called the chess piece. While the other half is scattered at sea, as he was cremated.

As a family they were well travelled and internationally known for their acts in the theatre, circus and music halls. They were also widely referred to in periodicals of the time.

James asked his son Joseph to buy a sea lion. He did and they called it Frisco as it came from San Francisco. Frisco became the first performing sea lion.

The Great War was a difficult and testing time for the Navy. It was said that the Admiralty felt the German submarines were underhanded, in other words, sneaky. Not the way to fight a war. It seems that Winston Churchill thought it was unlikely that a sub could sink a ship. How wrong can one be? As the war progressed, fears that merchant ships would be lost grew.
Joseph Woodward and his younger brother Fred co-operated with the Government’s Board of Invention and Research (BIR). It was thought that the sea lions could be trained to detect the underwater sound of a sub, swim to it and signal its location.

Training of the Woodwards’ sea lions was successful in the Westminster swimming baths. Can you see these lions in the pool? “a day out lads, and training plus fish.”

Mr Woodward was admired for his careful training and outstanding patience. However, it was not to be, as a number of things tended to distract the sea lions in the sea which would have not had a positive result.

Next came a “mission impossible” idea! I can hear that theme tune as I write this part. This would have been a testing time against a new war machine. What would the men be up against was the question. For example, Admiral Enfield’s enthusiasm to have a go at the German subs meant he was ready to try new ideas and he did. We who live by the sea know how changeable it can be in the English Channel.

Training started. A selected group of men were put into teams. They would be in motorboats in the Channel, keeping an eye on the sea looking for a periscope.

The chosen men would be trained to slip over the side of the boat and swim silent as a seal. The sailor would have a bag attached to his belt. When he reached the sub, he would climb on to it, put the bag over the periscope, brace himself and then yes take out his hammer and smash the lens of the periscope! Job done and back to the motorboat.
One wonders if this method was really tried out. It would have been good to hear the debriefing after a session. What did they think among themselves?

Imaginations ran wild on ways to stop the subs as our dependence on imports was well known.
Brave men ready to try whatever was asked of them in our hour of need.

Today, with electronic capabilities at such a high level above and below the water, there's not much that's not heard or tracked. We now hear the sounds under the sea, whales etc calling - what a joy. We have been learning more about our waters and how we need to take care of them.

It would be such a simple thing to do to keep the beaches clear of litter, take it home and put it in the bin. In the USA, no glass is allowed on the beach. What do you think of that? Every bit of rubbish we put in a bin is a help to our town/home.

There is a detailed article in the Ramsgate Millennium Book about the sea lions.

It seems that the Germans found out about the sea lions, and this quote is in the book:
"I was shown at Parkeston Quary, sometime in 1917 or 1918, a cutting from a German paper showing an illustration of a British destroyer being led by a sea lion towards a German submarine! How the "Secret" got out during the war, I never discovered -my report was issued by BIR.”

It seems that the sea lion project might have been discovered and then mocked by the enemy!

Written by:
Councillor Barbara Young
Councillor for Pegwell Ward