During the latter journey, he managed to reach port despite a collision with a large sea creature 400 miles (640 km) southwest of Australia.

[8][10] De Courcy King was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1916 while a major,[11] during the First World War, serving later as Lieutenant-Colonel with the 36th (Ulster) Division in Belgium.

In the 2006 documentary about the disastrous 1968 round-the-world yacht race; Deep Water, King said that he had been a boxer and a "champion long-distance runner" in his youth.

[20] On 3 December 1939, Snapper sustained a direct hit from a British aircraft while returning to Harwich after a patrol, but without taking damage.

[22] These include the tanker Moonsund, the merchant ship Florida, the minesweepers H. M. Behrens and Carsten Janssen, and the armed trawlers Portland and Cygnus.

Snapper was later lost under command of Lieutenant Geoffrey Vernon Prowse, either in a minefield or sunk by German depth charges.

[20][26] Operating from a joint British-Dutch base at Ceylon, Telemachus sank the Japanese Kadai-class submarine I-166 in the Strait of Malacca on 17 July 1944.

[27] During the war, King was promoted to commander, and awarded seven medals, including the DSO on 9 May 1940 for "daring, endurance and resource in the conduct of hazardous and successful operations in His Majesty's Submarines against the enemy",[29] and the Distinguished Service Cross on 6 September 1940 "for bravery and determination during arduous and successful patrols in H.M. Submarines" both whilst in command of Snapper.

[20][30] A bar was added to his DSO on 16 January 1945 "For outstanding courage, skill and determination in one of H.M. Submarines in successful patrols in Far Eastern waters"[31] (specifically the sinking of I-166).

[3] King ended his Royal Navy career as executive officer of the submarine depot ship Forth, an appointment he held from 1 September 1945 to April 1946.

[35] Bill and Anita probably met in Lebanon in 1943, where King served for 5 months as executive officer of the submarine base at Beirut.

[37] For a while, the Kings lived in a hunting lodge outside Oranmore village, designed by Bill, and built while he and Anita went on a "world sailing cruise.

[40][41] King's boat, the two-masted Galway Blazer II, a cold-molded plywood schooner, was specially designed for him by Angus Primrose.

In this regard Galway Blazer II was similar to Jester, the junk-rigged Folkboat used by former Royal Marine Colonel Herbert Hasler in the first single-handed cross-Atlantic race (OSTAR).

King's intention to sail around the world was overtaken by the institution in March 1968 of the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.

[citation needed] In Deep Water, King explained that he joined the race as a means of recovering psychologically from fifteen years of service in submarines.

During the race, King lived on raw food, such as dried fruit stirred into almond paste and green sprouts that he grew on board.

[50] On 31 October, Galway Blazer II capsized in 50-foot (15 m) waves northeast off Gough Island while King rested, breaking both masts.

After departing on 12 December 1971, a large sea creature (a whale or shark) damaged his boat about 400 miles (640 km) southwest of Fremantle.

He had to hang over the side and submerge himself to carry out emergency repairs with material that included thirteen ropes, sticky tape, collision covers, sheet copper, and sponge rubber.

[57] Crowther wrote a book about his experiences with the boat, which was lost on 24 June 1996 during the tenth Singlehanded Transatlantic Race from Plymouth, England, to Newport, Rhode Island in the USA.

Most recent attention arises from King's interaction with Akira Tsurukame and Katja Boonstra-Blom – the subject of print media articles, an exhibition, and video interviews.

Response to Japanese Peace and Reconciliation was arranged in Swan House, and featured art-works by his daughter Leonie King and grand-daughter Heather Finn.

The Lost at Sea installation was a collaboration between Galway-based Cane 141, who set stories told by Bill King to electronic music, and visual artist Roisin Coyle.