Gould was 27 years old, and a
petty officer in the
Royal Navy during the Second World War, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the
Victoria Cross. On 16 February 1942 north of Crete, in the Mediterranean,
HM Submarine Thrasher, after attacking and sinking a supply ship, was itself attacked.
Thrasher was subjected to a three-hour
depth charge attack and aerial bombing. When after dark the submarine surfaced, two
unexploded bombs were discovered in the gun-casing. Petty Officer Gould and Lieutenant
Peter Scawen Watkinson Roberts volunteered to remove the bombs, which were of a type unknown to them. They removed the first one without too much difficulty, but the second bomb had penetrated the side plating of the gun emplacement, and then the deck casing above the pressure hull. Roberts and Gould entered the confined space (which was no more than high in places), and lying flat, wormed past deck supports, battery ventilators, and drop bollards. The petty officer then lay on his back with the 150 lb bomb in his arms while the lieutenant dragged him along by the shoulders. "It was then a matter of the two of us, lying horizontally, pushing and pulling the bomb back through the casing. It was pitch black and the bomb was making this horrible ticking noise while the submarine was being buffeted by the waves". They pushed and dragged the bomb for a distance of some until it could be lowered over the side. Every time the bomb was moved there was a loud twanging noise as of a broken spring which added nothing to their peace of mind.
Thrasher was surfaced, stationary, and close inshore to enemy waters. If the submarine was forced to
crash dive while they were in the casing, they must have been drowned. It was 50 In August 1943 Gould received a
Mention in Despatches after the submarine
Truculent sank
U-308 off the Faroes on 4 June 1943. ==Later life==