Dennis Adams was born in Oxford in 1922, the son of Gaythorn Mills Adams (a photographic manager) and Beatrice Ellen Adams. Having joined the Royal Navy he was promoted to Acting Sub Lieutenant on 23 August 1941 and confirmed as Sub Lieutenant on 1 September 1942.

He was appointed to HMS MAIDSTONE ‘for Submarines’ on 3 May 1943 and, on 11 November 1943, to HMS UNSPARING. In December 1943 he was appointed to HMS SEVERN. He was later appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS ADAMANT at Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) ‘for Submarines’.

Dennis Adams joined HMS TALLY HO (Commander L W A Bennington DSO* DSC*) in July 1944. On 6 October 1944 the submarine was on patrol North-East of Medan in Sumatra when the 130-ton Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 2 was sighted. At about 1030 the TALLY HO surfaced to engage Cha 2, which was on the starboard beam and heading straight towards TALLY HO at speed. TALLY HO exchanged fire with her four inch gun and with her Oerlikon – which then jammed. A Japanese floatplane was seen approaching from astern. The submarine chaser was returning fire on TALLY HO and Dennis Adams, the Gunnery Officer, was hit and mortally wounded by a round which struck the bridge. Commander Bennington took over from the bridge to give spotting corrections to the gun crew and, after the corrections, the submarine chaser was hit five times. At the time the Japanese aircraft was approaching and was engaged by the Vickers gun. Several hits were obtained on the aircraft. When it was right overhead of the submarine chaser it blew up while TALLY HO was diving to eighty feet and safety. While diving an explosion was heard which was thought to be the aircraft crashing.

Dennis Adams of 13, Southfield Road, Oxford, who was on his second patrol in TALLY HO, had been taken below to the Captain’s bunk and died later that day from his wounds. He was buried at sea later that evening. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial on Panel 81 Column 1.

NOTE. This incident is described in detail in ‘The Hunting Submarine’ by Ian Trenowden on Pages 143 to 149.