Victor Percival Rogers was born in 1916, to parents William and Jane Rogers of Kidderminster.
In his early life he attended King Charles 1 Grammar School, thus becoming a "Carolian." The school had a long tradition of pupils leaving to serve under the Colours and every morning Victor would have mustered for assembly in the main hall and gazed up at the walls which were bedecked with huge wooden tablets, listing all those Old Carolians who'd served and made the ultimate sacrifice in the Crimea, South Africa and more latterly, The Great War.
Like most of the boys, Victor would have been a member of the school's Combined Cadet Force which had been formed in 1914 and had received recognition from the War Office in 1915, becoming part of the Worcestershire Cadet Battalion under the jurisdiction of the Worcestershire Regiment.
On leaving school he joined the Post Office - his appointment being announced in the London Gazette's section "Appointments Without Competition" dated the 4th of August 1933, confirming his new role as "a skilled worker - Post Office, Male (sic?) Sorting Clerk and Telephonist - Kidderminster."
In 1940 Victor married Ida Louisa (nee Brown) in Kidderminster, joining the RAFVR shortly after.
Victor lost his life whilst in transit between operational postings. At the time of his death, he was bound for Freetown on the troopship RMS Laconia which was under the command of Captain Rudolph Sharp. The ship was carrying 463 officers and crew, 87 civilians, 286 British servicemen, 1,793 Italian prisoners of war and 103 Polish soldiers (acting as guards for the POWs).
On the 12th of September 1942, the German submarine U-156 was patrolling off the coast of West Africa, when the U-boat's Kapitan, Werner Hartenstein, spotted the large British ship sailing alone and attacked it.
At that time, any armed ship was regarded as a legitimate target for attack without warning and as the Laconia was armed, it fell into this category,
Hartenstein's torpedo's ran true, and the Laconia’s fate was sealed. As Laconia was sinking, U-156 surfaced and to their surprise, they saw over 2,000 people struggling in the water. Realising that the passengers were primarily POWs and civilians, Hartenstein immediately began rescue operations whilst flying the Red Cross Flag. He also requested assistance by radio from the head of submarine operations, Admiral Karl Donitz, who immediately ordered seven U-boats from a closely located wolfpack to divert to the scene and assist in picking-up survivors. Dönitz then informed Berlin of the situation and the actions he'd taken.
Hitler was furious and ordered that the rescue be abandoned but despite his fury, the other U-boats maintained course and went to help the survivors.Over time, U-156 took onboard, around 200 survivors and was towing many more in lifeboats.
On the 16th of September, U-156 was spotted by an American bomber. The submarine was on the surface, with a Red Cross flag draped across her gun deck.
The U-boat Kapitan, signalled to the American pilot in English, requesting assistance. A British officer (possibly PO Victor Rogers?) also messaged the aircraft saying:"RAF officer speaking from German submarine, Laconia survivors on board, soldiers, civilians, women, children.”
However, despite the messages, the US pilot was ordered to “sink the sub” by his CO, Captain Robert C Richardson III. The bomber made 4 attacks, with bombs and depth charges. One landed among the lifeboats in tow behind U-156, killing dozens of survivors. Hartenstein cast adrift those lifeboats still afloat and ordered the survivors on his deck into the water.
The submarine submerged slowly to give those still on deck a chance to get into the water and escape, but 1757 still died.
The Laconia Incident had far-reaching consequences. Up until then it was common for U-boats to assist torpedoed survivors but on the 17th of September 1942, in response to the incident, Admiral Karl Donitz issued a mandate (later known as the Laconia Order). In it, Donitz prohibited U-boat crews from attempting rescues, confirming that survivors were to be left in the sea.
At the Nuremberg trials in 1946, Dönitz was indicted for war crimes with the Laconia Order at the core of the prosecution case, a decision that backfired badly. Its introduction allowed the defence to recount the numerous instances when German submariners had acted with humanity - where in similar situations, some Allied crews had behaved callously.
Dönitz pointed out that the order itself was a direct result of this callous attack on a German rescue operation by US aircraft. The US bomber pilot falsely reported they’d sunk U-156 and were awarded medals for bravery. Neither the pilots nor their commander were punished or investigated, and the matter was quietly forgotten by the US military.
Old Carolian, Pilot Officer V.P. Rogers was 26-years-old when he perished on the Laconia. His name too, was added to the Remembrance Tablets hanging in King Charles School Main Hall - and many a pupil in the 50's, 60's and 70's who'd grown bored of the Head's ramblings during assembly, would have looked up and seen Victors name, totally unaware of "The Laconia Incident" and the repercussions that it bore...
