Henty Henty-Creer was born in Sydney, Australia, on 29 March 1918, the son of Commander Reginald Charles Ferrers Creer, RAN, and Eulalie Henty. His mother took him and his siblings on an extended tour around the world from 1927 ending up in England where he finished his schooling. Through various connections he became involved in the film industry and became a film cameraman.

After the outbreak of WWII he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman. After being selected for Officer assessment at HMS KING ALFRED he was promoted to RNVR Temporary Sub Lieutenant on 12 June 1942. He was then appointed to HMS DOLPHIN for submarine training and, as a volunteer for ‘Special Service, to HMS VARBEL where he trained as a X-Craft Officer. After training he was allocated to HMS X5 as the Commanding Officer. He was promoted to Temporary Lieutenant, RNVR on 1 August 1943.

HMS X5 participated in the attack on the German battleship TIRPITZ in Kaa Fjord, Northern Norway on 22 September 1943. X5, with a ‘Passage Crew’ on board, left Loch Cairnbain on 18 September 1943 and was towed to the operational area by HMS THRASHER. The Operational Crew then took over from the Passage Crew for the approach to the target and the attack. Lieutenant Henty-Creer is believed to have made his way into the area around the TIRPITZ. X-5 was sighted in the area nearby TIRPITZ (some five hundred yards away) and was fired. Depth charge attacks by the destroyer Z29 followed but X5 was not seen again. X5 was assumed to have been lost with its Operational Crew.

Henty Henty-Creer was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ (posthumously) ‘for great daring and enterprise in the attack on the German battleship TIRPITZ by Midget Submarines in September 1943.’– see London Gazette dated 1 August 1944. Henty Henty-Creer is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial on Panel 80 Column 1 and on the 12th Submarine Flotilla memorials at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute and at Kylesku.

Henty Henty-Creer was recommended by Rear Admiral Barry, along with the other two COs, for the award of the Victoria Cross.  He wrote: “There is no doubt in my mind that these three craft pressed home their attack to the full.  In doing so they not only accepted all the dangers which human ingenuity could devise for the protection in harbour of vitally important fleet units“.  This recommendation was not accepted as, unlike in the case of Cameron and Place, who were able to tell their stories, there was no absolute evidence that Henty-Creer achieved an attack.  Thus the best that could be awarded was a Mention in Despatches (The DSO and DSC could not be awarded posthumously). This apparent injustice is well discussed in the book “The Mystery of X5”, Walker and Mellor.