Of early submarine interest; The Wilkinson sword, family photographs, and original photographs of the first Holland boats of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy Officer’s Sword of Commander Stephen Bowle-Evans RN – Pioneer of the British Submarine Service

The significant Royal Navy officer’s sword of Commander Stephen Bowle-Evans RN (1876–1918), one of the earliest officers of the Royal Navy Submarine Service and one of the first officers formally appointed to command a British submarine.

Bowle-Evans was involved with the submarine programme from the very beginning. He was appointed for submarine duties on 20 August 1901, alongside Lieutenant Forster Delafield Arnold-Forster, under Captain Reginald Bacon, Inspector of Submarines, and formed part of the small naval group attached to Holland No. 1 from its earliest period. At this point the Royal Navy’s submarine service was only just being established and the first Holland-class boats were still being built and trialled at Barrow.

His position among the earliest submarine officers was later noted by Reginald Bacon in his own published account, where Bowle-Evans is described as “one of the very first” officers involved with the new service. Personal artefacts of submarine pioneers are extremely rare on the open market. 

Bowle-Evans took part in the early trials of Holland No. 1, the Royal Navy’s first submarine, with records placing him aboard and operating the boat during this experimental period. By late April 1902 he was recorded as being in charge of Holland No. 1, several months before the formal command appointments of the later Holland boats.

On 4 August 1902, he was formally appointed “for command” of Holland No. 2, while Lieutenant John Alfred Moreton was appointed on the same date to Holland No. 3. They were therefore among the first officers formally given command of Royal Navy submarines.

Bowle-Evans’ connection with the first submarine was also remembered after his death. His 1918 obituary stated that he had “the distinction of commissioning the first submarine.”

He later rose to the rank of Commander and served during the First World War in South Africa, including service connected with HMS Hyacinth and Simon’s Town. He died there during the influenza pandemic in October 1918, aged 42, and is buried in Dido Valley Cemetery.

A very interesting sword with a direct connection to the beginnings of the Royal Navy Submarine Service, the original Holland No. 1 group, the boat’s earliest trials and the command of Holland No. 2.

Present are Bowle-Evans family photo archives, some original period photographs of Hollands 1-3 and a period newspaper print from early September 1902. 

Price on application. Insured UK and international shipping can be arranged at cost.