Paul Eddis was born on 18 March 1891, the son of the Reverend J E Eddis of Ryde, Isle of Wight. He joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet on 15 January 1904. He was promoted Midshipman on 15 September 1908 and appointed to HMS OCEAN and was then appointed to the battleship HMS CANOPUS on 15 September 1908.

His next appointment was to the battleship HMS SUPERB in 1909. On 20 November 1911 he was appointed to the Torpedo Boat Destroyer HMS HIND and then ‘loaned’ to HMS DREADNOUGHT. Promotion to Sub Lieutenant followed on 15 December 1911.

He joined HMS DOLPHIN on 1 May 1913 ‘for Submarine Training’. On 25 August 1913 Sub Lieutenant Eddis was appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS VULCAN at Dundee ‘for Submarines’. No submarine was specified, but it is probable that it was HMS C23. Promotion to Lieutenant followed on 15 December 1913 and, on 12 October 1914 he was appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS MAIDSTONE at Harwich ‘for Submarines E13’.

E13 ran aground on the Danish Island of Saltholm when attempting to make a passage into the Baltic on 19 August 1915 and was then destroyed by gunfire from German warships. Lieutenant Eddis escaped the destruction of the submarine as he was negotiating with the Danish Authorities for the re-floating and repair of E13. Following the loss of E13 Lieutenant Eddis was interned in Denmark. He later withdrew his parole, made his escape, and returned home.

He was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN on 30 September 1917 and on 27 October 1917 he was appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS PLATYPUS ‘for Command of Submarine E38’. He was next appointed to the Depot Ship HMS BONAVENTURE ‘for Submarine E32 in Command’ to date 4 January 1919. He was appointed to the battle cruiser HMS LION for his ‘Big Ship’ time on 25 May 1919 and then to the battle cruiser HMS HOOD in March 1920.

On returning to submarines, he was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN ‘for Command of Submarine H42’ to date 15 April 1921. Paul Eddis was the ‘Senior Submarine Officer’ of the Third Submarine Flotilla. His next appointment was to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS LUCIA ‘for Submarine L71 in Command’ to date 11 December 1921.

He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 15 December 1921. The date of his appointment to the command of HMS L24 was 30 August 1923. L24 was lost with all hands in a collision with the battleship HMS RESOLUTION off Portland on 10 January 1924.