John Capes: Extraordinary Tale of Survival from a Submariner in WW2

When John Capes showed up back in England after being missing for over 18 months, his explanation was not believed and was not proven until a decade after his death in 1985.

Sailing aboard the HMS Perseus a British submarine that was transporting him back to his original submarine the HMS Thrasher, the sub hit a mine off the coast of Greece and immediately sank. Capes, drinking rum and reading a book in his bunk in the rear engine room, was thrown to the floor in pitch darkness. He managed to get a light and found three wounded men still alive. The depth gauge was stuck at 270 ft. Knowing their only chance of survival was to escape to the surface, he handed out the breathing devices meant for only 100 ft of water and found a way to flood the compartment. Equalizing the pressure, the hatch came open and the four men made their escape. Nearly blacking out before reaching the surface, having chest pains from decompression, Capes finally broke the surface. Seeing no one except himself, he swam for some distant cliffs in a final act of survival. Found by kind Greek fishermen, he was hidden by the Greeks for 18 months till he could be smuggled back to England. Upon reaching England, his story was not believed. The depth and method of his escape was too wild to believe by the authorities and he spent the rest of his life under suspicion. In 1997, the HMS Perseus was found and Capes’ story was authenticated down to the bottle of rum he was drinking. He was later awarded the British Empire Medal for his actions. His story was true, his danger was real, and his valor is remembered even though he never saw it. Valor is in you. Set it free.