Surgeon Lieutenant Charles Eric Rhodes was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for gallantry in saving life at sea. He lost his life after the explosion in HMS SIDON in Portland Harbour on 16 June 1955.   The citation in the London Gazette states:

‘Surgeon Lieutenant Rhodes was among the first to enter the submarine after the explosion and in spite of darkness and smoke brought out an injured man to safety. He then put on a Davis Submarine Escape Apparatus and re-entered the submarine with morphia to give further help to the injured. In doing so he greatly prejudiced his chance of escape. He was not a submarine officer and was not familiar with the use of the breathing apparatus or the layout inside a submarine. In spite of these handicaps and the pitch darkness his only thoughts were for those within the submarine; he had no hesitation in re-entering the Sidon and he succeeded in helping two more men to escape before the submarine sank. Surgeon Lieutenant Rhodes’s gallant and selfless act in helping to save the lives of others cost him his own life.’