Grubb Family Tree

Frederic Grubb Jr. was a Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy.

From memorium

Frederick Ernest Grubb joined the Navy in 1928. He was a Lieutenant and Captain of the corvette HMCS Moose Jaw, which together with the corvette HMCS Chambly, sank the U-501 in September 1941 during the worst mauling of an Allied convoy on the Atlantic run from Sydney, Cae Breton, to England.
The two escort vessels were at sea on a training exercise when they were diverted to help SC (slow convoy, unable to travel faster than seven knots) 42 which was under attack from a U-boat wolf-pack southeast of Greenland. It was the first time wolf-pack tactics had been used by German submarines during the Second World War.
Moose Jaw and Chambly surprised U-501 on the surface. As the Moose Jaw prepared to ram the submarine the submarine's commander jumped ship, landing on the corvette's deck. The Moose Jaw rammed the submarine and the Chambly sank her with depth charges. The convoy lost 18 ships.

From navalandmilitarymuseum.org

As the commander of HMCS MOOSE JAW, Frederick Ernest Grubb certainly knew how to obey the rules, including the rules of engagement while under attack. In 1941, Lieutenant Grubb's ship MOOSE JAW, along with HMCS CHAMBLY, sank the German submarine U-501, which was preying on a convoy of merchant vessels.

At one point in the showdown, the submarine attempted to cross MOOSE JAW's bows. Grubb responded with engines full ahead, bore down on the U-boat and rammed it.

"Although it was a minor action among the many battles fought in World War II, it was of particular significance in Canadian history because it was the first occasion on which ships of the Royal Canadian Navy attacked and sank an enemy vessel in high seas." So wrote Commander Grubb himself, in a reminiscence of the event written after his retirement, a reminiscence prompted by differing accounts of the action that had emerged.

Postwar, F.E. Grubb became well-known for another piece of writing, one that established him as a gentle guide to the etiquette, social codes and procedural details of officer behaviour.

His Naval Customs and Social Practices incorporated these rules into a handy set of ready reference notes that offer advice on the way to behave at mess parties and dinners, and other career-making - or career-breaking - occasions, including how to give and return salutes, make and return social calls, and join a ship as a crew member.

Grubb's guide also tackled larger issues - the necessity of good manners in dealing with others, especially "inferiors", and the importance of demonstrating, as well as expecting, respect. Grubb's golden rule of behaviour was simple - "The basic law governing etiquette is the same the the world over – consideration of others", he noted.

Grubb also produced other useful notes for young officers, including How to Study. Although some of his advice sounds outmoded and quaint to our modern ears, much of it is timeless as a template for civilized behaviour.

For the full text of Grubb's notes in pdf format, follow this link to Naval Customs and Social Practices.

~ By Clare Sharpe, Museum staff member/webmaster