Cyril Pardoe was born in Blundell Sands, Liverpool, Lancashire on 8 July 1912, the son of Reginald George Pardoe and Ethel Vavasco Pardoe (née Preece).

On leaving school, he joined the Merchant Marine as an Indentured Apprentice. He is registered as arriving in New York in the 4910-tonne Lamport & Holt Line Ship SS STRABO on 26 February 1929 from Bridgetown, Barbados.  He was appointed Midshipman RNR on 6 August 1930.

He was appointed Acting Sub Lieutenant RNR on 8 July 1933 and, having taken his Board of Trade Examinations, he passed for Second Mate in January 1934 and was promoted to Lieutenant RNR on 9 Dec 37.  Pardoe then joined HMS DOLPHIN for the Submarine Course on 26 Oct 38 and, in December, he was appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS TITANIA for HMS SPEARFISH as Navigator and subsequently to the Submarine Tender HMS DWARF for HMS OSIRIS as Navigator on 3 August 1939.

From 1 February to 15 April 1941, he was the Senior Officer of HMS OSIRIS whilst the submarine was refitting in Chatham Dockyard and on 17 April 1941 he was re-appointed to HMS OSIRIS as First Lieutenant (Second-in-Command).  The date of his Commanding Officers Qualifying Course was 1 August 1942 and, on successful completion, he was appointed to HMS L26 in command to date 15 July 1942 and then HMS H33 as Commanding Officer from 30 July 1942.

He was next sent to the Mediterranean on 10 August 1942 to join HMS MEDWAY II ’for Submarines’ and subsequently to HMS PARTHIAN in command on 15 June 1943.  PARTHIAN sailed from Malta on 22 July for Cyril Pardoe’s second Mediterranean patrol to be carried out West of Greece in the southern Adriatic.  On 26 July 1943, he was ordered to patrol off Otranto and was given a new patrol area on the 28 July.  HMS PARTHIAN was reported overdue at Beirut on 11 August 1943 and was presumed lost with all hands, probably through striking a mine.

Thirty-one year old Cyril Pardoe was the husband of Ethel Joyce Pardoe (née Hayes) – they had been married in Chatham on 3 March 1941.  Cyril Pardoe of 27, Mount Road, Wallasey, Cheshire is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, on Panel 79 Column 3.

NOTE.  It is understood that at some point Cyril Pardoe served as a Liaison Officer in the Yugoslav submarine NEBJOSA and also commanded HMS P712 (ex-Italian PERLA) sometime between her capture on 9 July 1942 and her handover to the Greek Navy as MATROZOS on 7 December 1942 but no definite details/dates have been found.