Submarines in the Shires: West Yorkshire’s Hidden Role in Britain’s Midget Submarine Story

 Submarines in the Shires: West Yorkshire’s Hidden Role in Britain’s Midget Submarine Story

When we think of submarines, we picture deep oceans, naval bases, and coastal shipyards—not the rolling hills and industrial towns of West Yorkshire. But tucked away in Huddersfield, a quiet revolution in naval engineering was underway during the Second World War.

Broadbents of Huddersfield: Building Submarines in Secret

Thomas Broadbent & Sons Ltd, a respected engineering firm in Huddersfield, played a vital role in constructing Britain’s X-class midget submarines. These tiny but powerful vessels were designed for stealth missions—sneaking into enemy harbours, laying explosives, and gathering intelligence.

Broadbents built several of these submarines, including X20 (Exemplar) and X21 (Exultant), and contributed to the XE-class used in the Far East. Wartime secrecy meant completed hulls were disguised as motorboats and quietly shipped north for trials. Local stories even mention canal testing and covert rail movements through the town.

D-Day and Beyond: West Yorkshire Craft in Action

The submarines built in Huddersfield weren’t just engineering marvels—they were frontline heroes. X20 and X23 played key roles in Operation Gambit, marking the assault lanes for Allied forces landing on Sword and Juno beaches on D-Day. Their crews carried out dangerous reconnaissance missions and guided the invasion with beacons and signals.

Cold War Comeback: HMS Sprat’s Inland Tour

Fast forward to the 1950s, and the Royal Navy’s midget submarines were back—this time with a twist. The Stickleback-class, including HMS Sprat (X53), was designed for Cold War training and experimental missions. But Sprat also had a surprising second life: as a publicity and recruitment tool.

In 1957, HMS Sprat made an inland journey via the Aire & Calder Navigation, visiting Goole, Wakefield, and Leeds. This wasn’t just a technical feat—it was a symbolic return of maritime technology to the industrial heartland that helped build it. Local newspapers and canal enthusiasts recall Sprat moored in city centres, drawing crowds and sparking curiosity.

This story challenges the idea that naval history belongs only to the coast. It shows how inland communities like Huddersfield were deeply connected to Britain’s maritime defence—through engineering, innovation, and even canal networks.

It also reminds us that history isn’t just about battles and ships—it’s about people, places, and the unexpected journeys that link them.

 

Australian Submarine Memorial

 The Australian Submarine Memorial in Barrow

Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England, with a long and proud history of shipbuilding. It was here that the first two submarines for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) were built, HMAS AE1 and HMAS AE2. Both AE1 and AE2 were built in Barrow, a town famous for its submarine building.

The submarines were lost during World War I, and their crews were killed in action or taken Prisoner.

HMAS AE2, berthed at Garden Island in Sydney, with the HMAS AE1 behind. Taken soon after arrival on May 24, 1914

In 2013, a memorial was unveiled in Ramsden Square, Barrow, to commemorate the loss of the AE1 and AE2 crews. The memorial is a three-sided granite structure with plaques listing the names of the men who died. It is a fitting tribute to the brave sailors who lost their lives in service to their country.

It is a reminder of the sacrifices that have been made in the name of freedom, and it is a source of inspiration for those who serve today.

The memorial is also a symbol of the close relationship between the UK and Australia. The two countries have a long history of cooperation, and they share a common bond in defence of freedom. The memorial is a reminder of that bond, and it is a symbol of the friendship between the two nations.

If you are ever in Barrow-in-Furness, I encourage you to visit the Australian Submarine Memorial. It is a moving tribute to the brave men who lost their lives in service to their country. It is also a reminder of the close relationship between the UK and Australia.

Submariners - The Navy Silent Service - Part 1

 

The Silent Service

The Royal Navy Submarine Service was formed in 1901, the first Submarine was the Holland 1, built by Vickers in Barrow in Furness.

13 years later, at the outbreak of World War One (WW1) the Submarine fleet consisted of some 62 Submarines (or boats).

WW1 Submarines

The Subamne while considered ungentlemanly warfare by some, proved itself with submarines winning 5 VCs in WW1. 

By WW2 Submarines had developed and got bigger, capable of travelling further distances and longer at sea. 

But it was after the war during the Cold War that Submarines came into their own with nuclear power. The first nuclear powers Submarine was launched in 1960. named HMS Dreadnaught. Nuclear power meant submarines could stay below the service for greater periods. Something that makes the Submaire service motto even more accurate. "We Come Unseen."

References

https://www.forces.net/services/navy/navy-submariners-pictured-wearing-black-caps-one-first-times

https://www.forces.net/news/royal-navy-submariner-trainees-get-new-badge

https://www.facebook.com/britanniaassociation/posts/a-recent-rntm-directive-03-03321-notified-royal-navy-personnel-that-to-commemora/4095024360553141/

Midget Submarines and the VC

 

Midget Submarines and the VC 

I recently blogged about Mudget Submarines (XE craft) built in Huddersfield on the site of the University by local company Thomas Broadbent.

Midget Submarine

Leading Seaman Magennis VC

LS Magennis 

I recently stumbled across a local Victoria Cross winner buried in Halifax. 

Leading Seaman Magennis

Lord Ashcroft Collection

James Joseph Magennis was not a local man by birth. He was born in Belfast to a working-class Roman Catholic family, sadly it was only 10 years after his death that his home town recognised him and his achievements. It was only in 1998 after the troubles had started to relax and the Good Friday agreement in place that the Council of Belfast finally honoured their VC winner. A memorial was erected for him in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.

James Joseph Magennis VC

Having joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 Magennis, he served initially of Destroyers before moving to Submarines and later volunteering to serve on Midget submarines. 

Megennis a diver took part in the sinking of Turpitz (1943) for which he was mentioned in dispatches, before also taking part in the sinking of Takao. It was this mission for which he earned his VC. 

After a period of training in Australia, the crews of the XE craft took part in Operation Struggle, an attack on Seletar Naval Base. 

XE craft in Sydney Harbour 1945

 

London Gazette Citation

Leading Seaman Magennis served as Diver in His Majesty's Midget Submarine XE-3 for her attack on 31 July 1945, on a Japanese cruiser of the Atago class. The diver's hatch could not be fully opened because XE-3 was tightly jammed under the target, and Magennis had to squeeze himself through the narrow space available. He experienced great difficulty in placing his limpets on the bottom of the cruiser owing both to the foul state of the bottom and to the pronounced slope upon which the limpets would not hold. Before a limpet could be placed therefore Magennis had thoroughly to scrape the area clear of barnacles, and in order to secure the limpets he had to tie them in pairs by a line passing under the cruiser keel. This was very tiring work for a diver, and he was moreover handicapped by a steady leakage of oxygen which was ascending in bubbles to the surface. A lesser man would have been content to place a few limpets and then to return to the craft. Magennis, however, persisted until he had placed his full outfit before returning to the craft in an exhausted condition. Shortly after withdrawing Lieutenant Fraser endeavoured to jettison his limpet carriers, but one of these would not release itself and fall clear of the craft. Despite his exhaustion, his oxygen leak and the fact that there was every probability of his being sighted, Magennis at once volunteered to leave the craft and free the carrier rather than allow a less experienced diver to undertake the job. After seven minutes of nerve-racking work he succeeded in releasing the carrier. Magennis displayed very great courage and devotion to duty and complete disregard for his own safety.

LS Magennis Medals- Ashcroft Collection

Magennis with his Mother

Magennis Mural in Belfast

XE-3 was just one of the eight Midget submarines built in Huddersfield, so it seems fitting that after the war, Magennis chose to settle just up the road in Halifax.

XE Craft

The XE craft were an improved version of the X craft, and they proved themselves in the final years of the war.

Below are just a couple of videos of X and XE craft in action

Further information

• Lord Ashcroft Collection

• Wartime NI

• James Joseph Magennis Wikipedia

• Victoria Cross 

• Imperial War Museum

• RN Subs

• XE- Craft Wikipedia

• Takao

Midget Submarines

Submarines

One of the things that often fascinates me is how Huddersfield some 50 miles from the Sea played a role in the coastal defences during World War 2. How?

XE 8 at Sea

Thomas Broadbent's & Son, a centrifuge maker still in existence today, put their engineering skills to good work during the war making XE boats. The site of the factory is now part of the university, which has been redeveloped and had the Barbarbrs Hepworth Building built on the site. 

Photograph of the Barabara Hepworth Building home of Arts and Architecture Courses

 

Photos courtesy of Yorkshire Life 

But during the second world war, Broadbents was manufacturing the X Boat or Midget Submarine. The midget submarines were over 16 metres long, and so not that easy to hide, yet they were disguised as they left the works in Huddersfield as large motor boats making them less of a target.

 

HMS Expunger (XE 8)

As she is today in Chatham Dockyard

The boats were covered in tarpaulin and taken by train to Scotland, to be launched on the Clyde.

A Submarine is prepared for transport

 

D-Day Museum Portsmouth

Huddersfield Live

Broadbent's Blog

Historic Ships

World Navies