Casualties and Survivors

Key on the link for a detailed description of events when Vimiera sank and the results of the Board of Enquiry. It was necessary to maintain a continuous mine sweeping effort in the Thames Estuary and the largest minesweeper base in the UK was at Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey near Sheerness. While the convoy continued to Sheerness two minesweepers from Queenborough came alongside the after part of Vimiera to rescue survivors. MMS 19 embarked 24 men and MMS 79 took off three. The minesweeping trawler HMT Soranus rescued eight badly wounded from the water and the boat from the Anti Aircraft Ship Jeanie Deans picked up three injured.

Most of the 127 men in HMS Vimiera when she sank on 9 January 1942 are in the photograph of the ship's company taken at Rosyth in 1941 - see above. Brief biographical details of the survivors are given below (with the number identifying them in the photograph) followed by a list of those whose bodies were recovered or who died after rescue and were buried ashore. The list of those "Missing Presumed Killed" is much longer.

If a member of your family is on one of these lists and you would like us to add further details of their life please get in touch.

The Survivors

Leading Seaman Stanley A. Adams (C/JX 147711) [86]

Stanley Adams was one of five men awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for crewing the whaler which rescued men from the eight ships which ran aground on the Haisborough Sands off the Norfolk coast on the 6 August 1941. When Vimiera detonated the mine on the 9 January 1942 he was on the forward mess deck.

“When she turned over I proceeded aft along the fan-shaft. It was dark and someone struck a match, and I saw the escape hatch above my head. I opened it up, took the wheel off, pushed it with my head and got out. I was followed by Able Seaman Robinson (and) Able Seaman Rawlinson ... Leading Seaman Whitney was next to come up ... but the water coming up through the mess deck and through the escape hatch met, and he disappeared again”.

L/Sea Adams suffered lacerations of the scalp which left a permanent scar. For further details of his life and subsequent service in the Royal Navy click on the link above.

Leading Seaman Roland Edward Averley (C/JX 171380)

Averley was one of the ratings commended for "Jumping overboard and rescuing men from the sea during a gale" when several merchant ships ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941, and received a Mention In Despatches for bravery and devotion to duty when Vimiera was sunk, as observed by the Captain.

“Some of the messdeck scuttles had been blown open, and a number of seamen appeared and called to me for assistance. I think Leading Seamen Averley was the first I spoke to and I directed him to get as many men as possible to follow him aft to the escape scuttles. I assisted him from outboard to open one scuttle. I believe Leading Seaman Averley and Adams, and A.B’s Benningfield, Kennedy and Robinson came through. A.B Burch attempted to get to the scuttle, but a heavy lurch to starboard flung him back and I did not see him again”.

Petty Officer Averley was killed on 12th June 1944 when HMS Boadicea was sunk by German aircraft 12 miles south of Portland Bill while supporting the Normandy Landings. The ship exploded after six seconds and there was very heavy loss of life. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

Able Seaman Victor Reginald Benningfield DSM BEM (C/JX 136129)

He was awarded the DSM for courage and resource when Convoy FS 32 was attacked by German aircraft on 11th November 1940. According to the Captain, Lt Cdr Roger Hicks “The chief reason for the enemy’s lack of success was Vimiera’s heavy and accurate fire which broke up the enemy formations before they had commenced their attack. Principle credit for this is due to the range taker, Able Seaman Benningield”. He was also awarded the BEM for crewing the whaler during the rescue operations on the Haisborough sands on 6th August 1941.

His home in Usher Road, East London, was bombed and his family moved in with the family of his wife's sister. After the war he emmigrated to Australia with his wife, Hilda, and their three sons, Edward, John and William, as £10 "poms" . They arrived in Australia on January 1 1950 and their families still live there today.

Mr Edgar Granville Blofield DSO, Commissioned Engineer [95]

After the explosion joined in the initial operations to save people swimming round the ship and then checked the after boiler room and engine room for damage.

Mr Blofield was gazetted as Lt(E) E. G. Blofield DSO on 21 October 1943 and appointed to HMS Opportune, a new destroyer. In June 1944 he was serving in HMS Eaglet, the shore HQ of Commander in Chief Western Approaches in Liverpool.

Temp Sub Lieutenant Alan Frank Bull RNVR [89]

At the time of the loss of Vimiera he was Navigating Officer, but was turned in sick in his cabin. His place on the bridge had been taken by Midshipman Lacy. When the mine exploded he was being visited by the Medical Officer who helped him on deck.

On 2 February he was appointed to the Hunt Class destroyer, HMS Wilton, commanded by Lieutenant Adrian Northey who had been First Lieutenant of HMS Vimy at Boulogne and Dunkirk. When escorting Arctic Convoy PW.14 the ship had to return to Scapa Flow with ice damage. He was still in Wilton as a Lieutenant in June 1944 but in January 1945 he was serving in HMS Forte, a shore establishment at Falmouth supporting convoy operations.

Lieutenant Reginald Lacey Caple, DSC, RN, First Lieutenant [91]

After the mine exploded Caple went on deck and organised the launching of carley floats and life saving nets to assist the people in the water and the shutting of watertight hatches. After initially going onboard the minesweeper MMS 19 he returned to Vimiera with volunteers to secure a tow line. Towing by MMS 19 was not practical, and he and the volunteers were taken off by the Naval Control of Shipping Tug and taken to Sheerness.

Lt Reginald L. Caple, DSC, RN was later appointed CO of HMS Sabre and in 1943 was portrayed with his No 1 on the bridge by the war artist, William Dring (1904-90). Lt Peter Kershaw RNVR, formerly of Venomous, was also onboard. He went on to command HMS Garlies, a Lease Lend American Destroyer (Sept 1943 - October 1944), and HMS Petard (November 1944 - mid 1946).

Stoker Petty Officer George William Chapman DSM (C/JX 127820) [68]

Bill Chapman had served in the Navy for many years. He was awarded the DSM when HMS Vimiera sank for saving the lives of two injured Stoker Petty Officers. With all lights out and a most of the occupants of the Stoker Petty Officer’s Mess dead or injured he guided them to the escape scuttle by the light of a box of matches, opened the scuttle although it was under water, and made his way to the surface accompanied by both POs who survived. It was later found in hospital that he was suffering from serious spinal injuries.

He was invalided out and gave his daughter, who was born soon afterwards, Vimiera as a middle name:

"My name is Barbara Angela Gonella. My dad was George William Chapman, known as 'Bill'. He served in the Navy for many years until he was invalided out after being injured when the HMS Vimiera hit a mine in 1942. My sister, who was born shortly after this has Vimiera as her middle name. I was always very jealous as a child that I hadn't got such an association with either of my names!" Posted on Warships Forum

His father, Charles George Chapman, also served in the navy and was killed in action on 31st May 1916 when HMS Indefatigable was blown up at the Battle of Jutland.

Leading Seaman John Daglish, Higher Submarine Detector (SSX14697 / JX150400) [6]

LS John Daglish

John Daglish (1915 -74) was born on 2 August 1915 at Whitehaven in Cumberland and was a miner before he enlisted in the Navy on 30 January 1934. He joined HMS Ramilies, a Revenge Class Battleship as an Ordinary Seaman (OD) and was rated AB when he left to train at HMS Osprey, the Navy's anti-submarine training establishment at Portland, Dorset, in the use of Asdic (Radar) and become a Submarine Detector, his specialism throughout his naval service. On 23 May 1936 he joined the Asdic department on HMS Diana, a D-Class destroyer launched in 1932. She was sold to Canada in 1936, renamed and lost in a collision in 1940. He joined HMS Pelican, a new Egret Class Sloop built as a convoy escort and anti-submarine ship when first commissioned in April 1939. By the outbreak of war he was a Leading Seaman and after a further a training course at HMS Osprey was promoted to HIgher Submarine Detector (HSD) before joining the Asdic team on HMS Vimiera on 26 January 1940. He was aboard Vimiera when she made two trips to Boulogne harbour on the 23 May 1940 and brought back 1,955 troops.

John Daglish is in the photograph of the ship's company of HMS Vimiera taken in 1941 but was in hospital with a broken arm when she detonated the mine in the Thames estuary on 9 January 1942 and sank with the loss of 93 members of the ship's company. Find out more about the work of the Asdic Deprtment on HMS Vimiera.

On 2 April 1942 he joined HMS Bleasdale, a Hunt Class destroyer, when she was first commissioned and took part in the disastrous Raid on Dieppe in July. He left her when she was under repair after being mined off the Nab Tower, Portsmouth, in October. By now he was an Acting Petty Officer and in December he took passage to the USA where he was stationed at HMS Asbury, the RN shore base at New York until he was lent to Chicago in June 1943 where he joined HMS Kilbride, a Patrol Class escort being built by the Pullman Standard Car Co. She was commissioned on 30 December 1943 and he remained with her until 15 July 1945. He served the remainder of his time at HMS Cochrane, the naval base at Rosyth until he was released on 7 April 1946.

Ordinary Seaman Louis East (JX259778) [119]

Louis East was born at Barton in Cambridgeshire on 19th September 1912 moving to Teversham on his marriage to Valerie Barton on 18th November 1939. They had been married for four months when Louis East enlisted in the Royal Navy on 24th March 1941 and his wife completed the Next of Kin Form.

The Christmas card was sent to his in-laws in 1941 less than a month before Vimiera was lost. He seved for just nine months before being severely wounded when Vimiera struck the mine and sank. He was lucky not to lose his leg, but had to undergo extensive treatment at Chatham and Stoke Mandeville Hospitals, never returning to active service.

One of his shipmates had asked Louis to exchange duties and so Louis was on deck watch when the explosion occurred catching him in its blast. He found himself in the water, severely injured in one leg, surrounded by oil and facing a struggle to survive. The whole of his face and head was covered in oil – his eyes were burning and his ears, his nose and mouth and his hair were all full of the filthy stuff. He could hardly see or hear or call for help; he was in the water for a considerable time and thought he was going to die. Somehow, clinging on to flotsam, he did survive and was picked up. For the rest of his life he suffered periodic attacks of debilitating migraine and sickness; at such times he could once again taste and smell that fuel oil.

At Chatham Hospital two of the surgeons wanted to amputate his shattered leg without delay, but a third, younger surgeon, prevailed on them to let him try to save it. Against the odds the surgeon managed to do so and Louis was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for further prolonged treatment, before continuing to convalesce at home; he never returned to active service.

His leg was fitted with a calliper splint; he wore it for some fifteen years gradually relying on it less and less as time went by. He rode a bicycle fitted with limited pedal movement on that side, which was regularly adjusted to increase the use of his injured leg, before learning to drive in his early fifties. Expeditions through a wide area followed, including visits to the coast and regular trips to Cromer in Norfolk. He used to take family members to visit the Cromer Lifeboat Station and the museum devoted to Coxswain Henry Blogg; he loved to point out the reference to the rescue of men from eight ships of convoy FS 559 stranded on the Haisborough Sands and told of the part Vimiera played in the incident in August 1941.

After the war he returned to his old job at the County Council Education Offices in Cambridge, remaining there until retirement. He played cricket again for the office team, but from then on kept wicket as this didn’t involve so much moving about. He had the love and support of his wife Val for over forty years, celebrating their Ruby Wedding Anniversary in 1979 with a party for friends and family at Teversham Conservative Club; however Val had already been stricken by Cancer and died six months later on 31st May 1980. He was an easy-going and gentle man who was interested in friends and family; visiting France’s WW1 battlefields and his father’s grave there many times. He supported numerous village activities and was Church Treasurer, a School Governor and Clerk to the Parish Council; he loved nothing more than to watch Essex play cricket at Chelmsford or the University team at Fenners. He died on 13th July 2000 after collapsing while preparing to travel to Lords.

Louis had no children and rarely talked of the day his ship sank; he left no written memories of his time in Vimiera but we are grateful to him for keeping safe the two fine photographs of the ship's company with other memorabilia provided by his wife Valerie’s nephews and nieces. He would have approved of the commemoration of Vimiera and her crew and the telling, where possible, of individual stories.

Able Seaman William Gabbot Foster [61]

Foster was one of the ratings commended for "Jumping overboard and rescuing men from the sea during a gale" when several merchant ships ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941.

Stoker Petty Officer Charles Donald Fox (C/K 62740) [77]

Fox was commended after the rescue of seamen from a merchant ship which ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941, "For being at his station below without respite from 0430 until 1400. The engines were in constant use throughout this time and although out of sight it was in no small way due to his efforts that the rescue was made possible".

When Vimiera sank he accompanied Mr Blofield below to the after boiler room in an attempt to shut the main steam stop valve to stop the engine room filling up with steam and save the ship.

Able Seaman Henderson, starboard Oerlikon Gunner

He was rescued by the CO - "I found AB Henderson, Starboard Oerlikon gunner, in the water; he was wearing one of the new kapok overall suits, but had both legs broken - I took him in tow. Eventually I got hold of a line on the starboard side of the floating portion of the ship and hung there for some considerable time, until hauled into a Carley float by the ship's Surgeon Lt Kidd (AB Henderson was still clinging to me and was rescued with me)."

Stoker W. Jones [4]

He had been on watch in the engine room, and went on deck and helped with the carley floats.

Able Seaman Kennedy [112]

Temp Surgeon Lieutenant John Dennys Kidd RNVR [94]

After helping Sub Lt Bull onto the upper deck he checked ABs Kennedy and Foster who had received head injuries and then took part in the rescue of survivors in the water. “I saw that there were people swimming in the oil-fuel, and realised that they could not climb up the ropes, so I climbed down into a carley float and started helping people from the water into it. Then after I got 5 or 6 of them into the float we manoeuvred it round the stern to a minesweeper (MMS 19) that was on the port quarter and got them all onboard that. I then shouted to the First Lieutenant to see if there was any object in my staying on the after part of the ship and he said “No, stay with the casualties and do what you can”. The survivors rescued by Surg Lt Kidd included the Captain and AB Henderson. He was widely praised for his devotion to caring for the injured survivors. The Captain of MMS 19 wrote “The Doctor’s work in attending the wounded both onboard and alongside the North Wall at Sheerness was magnificent”. The Senior Officer of the Thames Local Defence Flotilla reported “I was most impressed by the Medical Officer of the ship who, although wet through and obviously shaken, was attending to all injured survivors landing. I had much difficulty in persuading him to look after himself even when all the injured survivors had been safely sent off in ambulances”.

He was Mentioned in Despatches for bravery and devotion to duty and awarded the Bronze Medal of the Royal Humane Society for rescue work following the mining of the Vimiera. In December 1943 he was serving in the destroyer HMS Raider, but by June 1944 he was working at the Devonport Dockyard Sick Bay. He was still there in January 1945.

Lieutenant Commander Angus A Mackenzie RNR [92]

Angus Mackenzie took over from Lt Cdr Roger B.N. Hicks DSO RN as CO of HMS Vimiera on 26 February 1941. She was his first command having formerly been "No 1" to Lt Cdr John McBeath on HMS Venomous when both ships took part in the evacuation of the Welsh and Irish Guards from Boulogne on 23 May 1940.

He was born in Jamaica where his father's regiment was stationed in 1905 and went to sea as an apprentice with the Cairn Line in 1922. He was a junior officer with the Bibby Line when he joined the RNR in 1931 and in 1936 distinguished himself on "temporary service" aboard the Battleship, HMS Hood, and served for four months on HMS Whitshed, a V & W Class destroyer. He was mobilised at the outbreak of war and appointed First Lieutenant on HMS Goodwin, a converted merchant ship escorting East coast convoys.

Less than a year after joining HMS Vimiera as her CO she detonated the mine and sunk in the Thames estuary on 9 January 1942, his 37th birthday. You can read his description of the disaster and find out more about his life and naval service by clicking on his name above.

ERA (3rd Class) H.T. Mansfield DSM [79]

He was on watch in the engine room and thrown on his back by the explosion. “I thought it had caught the engine room so I said “abandon” and we went up amid clouds of steam”.

Telegraphist Meadows [20]

He was on watch in the Wireless Office at the time of the explosion and escaped with PO Telegraphist Whitworth.

Lieutenant David Dennis O’Sullivan RN OBE [90]

Lt O'Sullivan was in charge of the whaler’s crew which rescued the seamen from the eight merchant ships which ran aground on Haisborough Sands on the 6 August 1941 while Vimiera was escorting Convoy FS.559 and was awarded the OBE. He was injured and thrown from the bridge when Vimiera was mined on 9 January 1942 and was probably rescued by the Minesweeping Trawler HMT Soranus.

He was appointed to the new destroyer HMS Quail in November 1942. The ship was damaged by a mine in the Adriatic on 15th November 1943, and sank while under tow for Malta in May 1944. He was appointed to the sloop HMS Fowey in January 1944 and was in command by January 1945.

Able Seaman Rawlinson

Able Seaman Robinson [33]

Mr Sidney Gordon Rodwell, Gunner, RN [88]

He was in the Wardroom at the time of the explosion and on going on deck was ordered by the First Lieutenant to close the after hatches, which he did with the assistance of some ratings. He then went back on the upper deck and started lowering the life-saving nets.

In March 1943 Mr Rodwell was serving in the Destroyer Depot Ship HMS Woolwich, and had transferred to the Depot Ship Blenheim by June 1944.

Ordinary Seaman Rounce

ERA C.R. Smith

At the time of the explosion he was in the engine room at the throttle of the port engine.

Sub Lieutenant Derek Cecil Spring RNR [96]

He was in the Officers’ bathroom at the time of the explosion and went on deck as quickly as possible, and aft to assist in launching the carley floats.

He was appointed to the Destroyer HMS Matchless on 26 January 1942 and became First Lieutenant of HMS Deane (American Lease Lend Destroyer) in October 1944.

AB Frank Stubley

Frank Stubley, HMS Vimiera

Frank Stubley, JX 148205, was born at Holbeach in Lincolnshire, on 30 December 1920, and went to HMS Ganges as a boy sailor in 1936. He enlisted in the Royal Navy for 12 years on his 18th birthday in 1938 and served as OD on the Revenge Class Battleships, HMS Revenge and HMS Royal Sovereign. He joined the I Class destroyer HMS Imogen on 24 August 1939 and took part in the Norway campaign.

On the 21 January 1941 he joined HMS Vimiera and a year later was one of the survivors when she sank. The majority of those killed were down below getting ready for shore leave. Fred was due to stay aboard the first night and so wasn't where he normally would have been and that is why he survived. The Mine struck amidships where most of the crew were. Fred was off duty reading a cowboy novel and heard a bang which coincided with the cowboy firing his gun and the next thing he remembered was waking up on the floor and hearing water rushing in. He realised they were sinking. A shipmate called Harris was stuck in the escape porthole so he pushed him clear and made good his own escape. He and Harris were picked up together and taken to the Naval Hospital at Chatham Dockyard where it was found that he had scraped all the skin off his left leg causing damage to his shin bone, an injury that plagued him throughout his life whenever it was cold.

His next ship was the Ocean Boarding Vessel, HMS Corinthian (1942-3) and he served in HMS Savage before she was scrapped.. He joined the C Class destroyer, HMS Cambrian, in March 1945 while she was being refitted before being sent to the Pacific but she arrived at Trincomalee, Ceylon, after VJ Day. He was offered promotion to Petty Officer to stay on after completing his 12 year engagement in 1950 but decided to leave with a gratuity of £105 in case his time was extended. In fact, as his son Tony explained, "it was Pretty Officers that they had an excess off and it was his brother, PO Les Stubley, who got discharged on time and my Dad got collared for an extra 2 years". "He met my Mum, Joan Harris, at a dance in Queenborough in 1948 and they were married for sixty years".

His son, Tony Stubley, won the lottery and bought him a bungalow on the Isle of Sheppey. They were both keen supporters of the appeal fund for HMS Cavalier, the National Destroyer Memorial at Chatham. He attended the unveiling of the memorial (along with Mum and myself) as there were 2 ships mentioned on it that he was aboard when they were lost, HMS Imogen (1940) and HMS Vimeira (1942). He remained active and in relatively good health right up to his death on 12 January 2013 just 12 days after his 92nd birthday.

J H Westcott

Branch and rank not known. He wrote to Sheila Mackenzie (daughter of Lt Cdr Mackenzie) on 9 January 1975, and was then living in Felpham near Bognor Regis.

Able Seaman P.H. Whitehead

PO Telegraphist L. Whitworth [53]

He was lying down in the Wireless Room in forward section at the time of the explosion, and picked himself up in darkness with the ship turning over. “I reached out to the door and pulled myself out. Telegraphist Meadows left the Wireless Office with me. On getting out of the office I saw daylight ahead. We both walked down the passage for about five yards, and then got into the water, and I swam round until picked up by a motor boat. Telegraphist Meadows was picked up by a float.

Lieutenant Ronald J. Hanson RN

He was a passenger in the Vimiera when she was mined, having been appointed CO of the Hunt Class destroyer, HMS Albrighton, whose build was nearing completion at John Brown's shipyard on the Clyde. He had been reading a confidential book in the Captain’s Day Cabin and after the explosion he ran on deck and helped to get a Flotanet over the side, and closed some of the doors to the Wardroom flat. He then went onboard MMS 19 with the other survivors but returned to Vimiera to assist the First Lieutenant with an attempt to take the after part in tow.

Lieutenant Van Kleeck, Royal Canadian Engineers

He was a passenger in the Vimiera, and after the explosion provided valuable assistance in both the engine room and after boiler room. He was a big man, possessing great physical strength. After the survivors had been transferred to MMS 19 there seemed to be a reasonable chance of towing the after part clear of the swept channel and the First Lieutenant called for volunteers to return to secure a line. Lt Van Kleeck was one of the first to offer his services. The Commander in Chief, The Nore, wrote a letter of commendation to his Commanding Officer.

The total of 31 includes the two Stoker Petty Officers rescued by Stoker PO Chapman. There were seven further men recovered and it is believed that of these one died of wounds in hospital and three were dead on landing. At present we do not know the names of the other three but it is probable that one was the Chief ERA.

In addition there was one member of the ship’s company on leave:

Petty Officer James Henry Thompson Errington (C/J.3111786) [48]
Petty Officer James Henry Errington, one of the men awarded the BEM for the rescue work off the Haisborough Sands, had with the Captain's permission swopped shore leave with another PO and was at home when the Vimiera struck the mine. He lived with his wife at Strood in Kent and they heard the explosion. The next day two Navy personnel arrived to advise his wife that her husband had been killed (he was working in the garden at the time). I am indebted to their son, also named James Errington, for this story.

Missing Presumed Killed (MPK)
and commemorated on the Naval Memorials at Chatham and Portsmouth

The names of 89 men who died but whose bodies were not recovered are listed below
Their position in the photograph of the ship's company as shown by the Key drawn by Lt Murdoch is given in square brackets.

ALDRIDGE, Albert W, Engine Room Artificer 3c, C/MX 61768, MPK

ANDERSON, Andrew, Electrical Artificer 2c, C/MX 47576, MPK [65]

ASHBY, Frederick, Able Seaman, C/JX 189695, MPK [23]

ASHWORTH, Albert R W, Able Seaman, C/JX 193031, MPK [104]

BAKER, James W B, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 277401, MPK

BALES, Thomas G, Stoker Petty Officer (Pens), C/K 61934, MPK

BASS, James, Able Seaman, C/JX 131596, MPK

BENJAMIN, Herbert G, Supply Petty Officer, C/MX 46778, MPK

BIRD, Kenneth C, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 269073, MPK

Robert Briggs 1940

BRIGGS, Robert William, Able Seaman, BEM RFR, C/J 98193, MPK [106]

Briggs was one of five men awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for crewing the whaler which rescued men from the eight ships which ran aground on the Haisborough Sands off the Norfolk coast on the 6 August 1941. Robert William Briggs was 36 years old whe he was killed, married and living in Dunfermline with his wife and child not far from Rosyth where his ship was based.

He was the son of Thomas Charles and Emily Ada Rose Briggs; husband of Margaret Doris Briggs, of Walthamstow, Essex. His widow was left with a three month old son and went to live with her parents in Walthamstow and lost contact with her husband's family. She was presented with his BEM at Buckingham Palace.

BROWN, Archibald Sinclair, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2688, MPK [16]

Brown was one of the ratings commended for "Jumping overboard and rescuing men from the sea during a gale" when several merchant ships ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941.

BURCH, Henry "Harry" Bernard, Ordinary Seaman, P/JX 257054, MPK

Lt Cdr Angus Mackenzie described the circumstances in which Harry Burch was lost while trying to escape through a scuttle:

Sheena Mackenzie, the daughter of Lt Cdr Angus Mackenzie, the CO, added:

“He suffered agonies over Vimiera, he felt he lived while younger men died. He was bending over on the bridge patting Andy his Scottish Terrier and he reckoned that was why he was blown clear. My mother made him take Andy to sea because the dog had a bad temper and was forever biting us – irony there! A boat was launched before Vimiera sank and it picked up those crew members not trapped below deck or killed in the blast including my father. The water was covered with oil. They recognised him by the tattoos on his arms."

Every year on the anniversary “he would put an announcement in the Daily Telegraph and I was surprised how many wrote saying how much they appreciated that”.

Harry Burch's parents parents who expressed their grief in a similar way by placing an notice in the Manchester Evening News on 10 January 1944:

Manchester Evening News 10 Jan 1944- death of Harry Burch HMS Vimiera

As late as 1954 the family of Harry Birch posted an entry in the Manchester Evening News on the anniversary of his death:

He was 31 years of age, the son of Henry and Ada Burch, and husband of Annie Burch, of Chadderton near Oldham, Lancashire. I am hoping to hear from surviving members of his family and add a portrait and further details of his life to this brief entry.

CANNON, Arthur A W, Chief Petty Officer, C/J 112131, MPK [60]

CARROLL, John, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 258530, MPK

CARRUTHERS, Thomas L, Ordinary Coder, C/JX 230272, MPK

CHALMERS, David S, Able Seaman, C/JX 169545, MPK [29]

CLARK, Francis, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2598, MPK [72]

CLARK, Robert G H, Ty/Act/Petty Officer, C/JX 134241, MPK [45]

CURTIS, Leonard, Leading Seaman, C/J 102494, MPK

DEAN, Henry G, Chief Petty Officer (Pens), DSM, C/J 28737, MPK [57]

Dean was awarded the DSM for "good services in Operations off the Dutch, Belgian and French Coasts", the action at Boulogne on 23 May 1940 when Vimiera brought back 1,955 troops from the harbour city on the day it fell to German forces.

DYBALL, James, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2867, MPK [24]

DYE, Albert E G, Stoker 1c, C/KX 97653, MPK [9]

EDELSTON, Frederick, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2870, MPK [28]

ELLIOTT, William S, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2384, MPK [107]

FARRELL, James, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 1557, MPK [109]

AB James Farrell was born a Farrell and married to a Farrell. He was the son of Catherine Farrell and husband of Helen Farrell, of Glasgow. His age at death is not known but he left at least one child and the brief details given here were provided by Anne Farrell, a Grand daughter. We hope to find out more about his life from her. His name is recorded on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

FASEY, William H, Able Seaman, C/JX 158935, MPK

Fasey was one of the ratings commended for "Jumping overboard and rescuing men from the sea during a gale" when several merchant ships ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941.

FEARON, Matthew E, Ordnance Artificer, RNSR, C/SR 8027, MPK

FIELDING, James N, Stoker 1c, C/KX 91729, MPK [8]

FORBES, William L, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 270833, MPK

FOWLER, Stephen H, Leading Telegraphist, C/JX 135864, MPK

FRENCH, Edward W, Canteen Manager, NAAFI, MPK

GIBBONS, John D, Signalman, C/JX 211604, MPK [41]

Derek Norris, the nephew of George Norris who married John Gibbon's widow in 1951, supplied the photographs and told me what he knew about her first husband:

"John Douglas Gibbons was born on 8th August 1917. He lived in Croydon, Surrey with his parents Henry and Edith Gibbons and his brother James who was five years older than John. In the thirties he cycled extensively around the villages of Surrey and Kent recording the scenes on his camera. John joined the Rover Scouts and in July 1939 attended the World Rover Scout Moot at Monzie Castle in Scotland, an historic, memorable and enjoyable meeting (see photograph below) but poignant in hindsight as so many who attended from different parts of the globe would not survive the next few years. During the late thirties he was working as a Civil Service clerk in central London, which is where he met Marian Hutchinson who worked in the same office. They were married in Croydon in April 1941 not long before John's tragic death. Marian was naturally heartbroken but remarried after the war and went on to live back in Pimlico, London where she had been raised and stayed there until her own death in 2015."

Marian Georgina Edney Gibbons (nee Hutchinson) was born in 1917 and was 98 when she died in 2015. She had no children by either husband and no brothers or sisters. She came from Pimlico, a smarter area of London than Brixton where where her second husband grew up. Derek Norris is probably her only living relative and my main source of information about John Gibbons.

John Gibbons ooutside his tent at the Scouts Moot, Monzie Castle, in 1939

Christmas card signed by shipmate on Viniera Moses

Francis Moses, a Telegraphist in HMS Vimiera, was also reported MPK
The photograph below may have been enclosed with the card and given to John Gibbons in December 1941 a month before he was killed

Shipmates on HMS Vimiera, both reported MPK

Shipmates on HMS Vimiera, both reported MPK

Left: Signalman John Gibbons is on the left and the shipmate on the right may be Telegraphist Francis Moses
Right: Marian arian Georgina Edney Hutchinson, John Gibbons' future wife, by the Sepentine in Hyde Park, London, in 1939 - click image to view the full image

It would be natural that "Bunting tossers" (Signalmen) and "sparkers" (wireless telegraphists) would became friends since they shared the same mess but there is no evidence that the photograph was enclosed with the card sent by Francis Moses and even if it was it might not be of Francis Moses. There is a closer resembles to Meadows than Francis Moses but there were six telegraphists on Vimiera and John Gibbons would have known them all: Meadows (20), PO Whitworth (53), Fowler, O'Connell (110), Steven and Francis Moses (20) but not all are identified as in the photograph. Do get in touch if you can identify John Gibbons' shipmate.

Signalman John Gibbons

Tel. Francis Moses

Tel. Meadows

HAMILTON, Malcolm G, Ordinary Signalman, C/JX 228967, MPK

HAND, Harry, Ty/Act/Leading Stoker, C/K 64335, MPK

Harry Hand was born on 30 June 1901 at a workhouse in Penzance, Cornwall, and ran away to join the Navy as a boy sailor in 1914 to escape the harsh conditions - but his service certificate gave his place of birth as Plymouth. His Grandson, Bruce Webster, told me what he learned about Harry's early life from his Mother, Rosemary, who Bruce looked after until her death aged 89 in 2019. Harry Hand was the illegitimate son of a Dutch sailor but his Mother eventually married. Harry may have been an embarrassment and when only 14 he ran away to sea on a merchant ship and in July 1919 aged 18 signed on at Chatham for 12 years service in the Royal Navy. The previous ship on his Service Certificate was a merchantman, the Elder Dempster Liner SS Biafra (Official No. 124075).

Harry Hands is the boy kneeling on the left in this photograph taken aboard an unidentified ship around 1916-18
Courtesy of Bruce Webster

In 1924 when he sent this Christmas card home he was serving in HMS Canterbury, a member of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in the Atlantic. What little is known of his life at sea is derived from the letters he wrote home to his wife Mildred Hand (née Heather) known as Milly.

Christmas 1924 in HGMS Canterbury, 2nd Cruiser Squadron

On 16 November 1937 he joined the County Class Cruiser HMS Shropshire which was part of the hunting group despatched to the River Plate in December to join British Forces which had intercepted the Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval engagement of the war, but Shropshire arrived too late to take an active part iin the battle. His wife developed long term schizophrenia from which she never recovered and Harry Hand joined HMS Ajax and returned to Britain on compassionate leave.

Despite this he resumed his wartime service in the Navy and joined HMS Vimiera on 18 July 1940 as Stoker 1st Class but was promoted to Leading Stoker on 13 January 1941. He was not aboard Vimera during the action to evacuate the Welsh and Irish Guards from Boulogne in May 1940 and has not been identified as being in the photograph of the ship's Company taken at Rosyth in July 1941.

Leading Stoker Harry Hand
Courtesy of Bruce Webster, his Grandson

When he died on 9 January 1942 he left behind his sick wife, two daughters and a son. His grandson, David Webster, supplied the photographs and will, we hope, provide further details of his grandfather's life and wartime service in HMS Vimiera.

HARRIS, Reginald J, Ty/Leading Cook (S), C/MX 60132 , MPK [84]

Reg Harris 1940

Reginald John Harris was born on 21 June 1921 and enlisted in the Navy on his eighteenth birthday in 1939. He was a "brewey
" at Elgoods Brewery in his home town of Wisbech when he signed on as an OD (Ordinary Seaman) for twelve years. After basic training he was drafted to HMS Vimiera as Assistant Cook on 25 January 1940. Less than a moth later he was rated as Cook and by the 7 September 1941 he was a Leading Cook in HMS Vimiera. He was in HMS Vimiera during the evacuation of the Welsh and Irish Guards from Boulogne on the 23 May 1940.

In December 1941 he returned to his home in the market town of Wisbech in the Cambridgeshire Fenns to spend Christmas with his Mother and stepfather and within two weeks of returning to duty on 30 December his mother received a telegraph informing her that he was missing after Vimiera detonated a mine and sank in the Thames estuary.

HAWES, Frank, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 248318, MPK

Frank Hawes was born at Ossett, a market town near Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the 30th June 1913. He was the second son and youngest child of licensed victualler Albert George Hawes of Prospect Road, Ossett and confectioner, Ellen Miranda Thomas. The Hawes family were licensees of the Coopers’ Arms, Ossett between 1901 and 1924, with Albert George Hawes holding the licence first between 1905 - 08 and then between 1915 - 24. Frank Hawes was educated Ossett Grammar School and his name is displayed on the school WW2 Memorial.

In the summer of 1936, Frank Hawes married Margaret Moody, who had been born in the Barnsley area in 1911. By September 1939, Frank, aged 26 years, and Margaret, aged 28 years were living at 103, London Road, Wallington, Surrey. Their only child, Ann C. Hawes, born in early 1938 in Wallington. Following the tragic death of her husband, Margaret married Thomas M. Hay in Sheffield in Spring 1945. The couple do not appear to have had any children.

HILLSON, George William, Engine Room Artificer 5c, C/MX 76798, MPK

Address at date of death: Wootton Avenue, Peterborough.

HODGSON, William H, Engine Room Artificer 2c, RNR, C/X 919 EB, MPK [78]

Hodgson was commended after the rescue of seamen from a merchant ship which ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941 "For being at his station below without respite from 0430 until 1400. The engines were in constant use throughout this time and although out of sight it was in no small way due to his efforts that the rescue was made possible" William Henry Hodgson was the 39 year old son of William Henry and Margaret Hodgson and was married to Kathleen Hodgson, of Wallsend, Northumberland.

HURLEY, James E, Able Seaman, C/JX 191570, MPK

HUTCHINGS, George V, Signalman, RFR, C/J 90136, MPK

Hutchings was commended for "Continual vigilance. He was instrumental in locating men in the water and in directing the operations of the lifeboats" during the rescue of seamen from a merchant ship which ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941. George Victor Hutchings was 40 when he died. He was married to Vera E. M. Hutchings, of Wood Green, Middlesex.

INGLIS, Alfred J, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 279994, MPK

Service Cert & Press Cutting from Aberdeen Press & 22 Jan 1942 Jnl and ???

INGRAM, William J, Stoker 2c, C/KX 130677, MPK

IRELAND, Eric L, Able Seaman, C/SSX 32901, MPK [3]

JOHNSTON, James D C, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2885, MPK [113]

KELLY, William, Stoker 1c, C/KX 117545, MPK [12 or 34]

KEMP, Frank E, Able Seaman, C/JX 150664, MPK [13]

KIDSON, John T, Sick Berth Attendant, C/MX 57851, MPK [44]

LEE, John T, Able Seaman, C/JX 155588, MPK

Lee was one of the ratings commended for "Jumping overboard and rescuing men from the sea during a gale" when several merchant ships ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941. John Thomas Lee was the son of Ernest Thomas and Ethel Jane Lee, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and was 21 when he died.

LEMON, Leonard, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 260559, MPK

Leonard Lemon was 32 and living with his wife Phyllis in Colindale, north London when he died. He was the youngest of four children and was born at Carlingford, near Dundalk in County Louth, Ireland, on 21 July 1909. His father, David Lennon (1877-1919) was in the Navy and Leonard and his older brother Alexander also joined the Navy. We do not know his trade but he could not have been in the service long as he was still an Ordinary Seaman (OD). Leonard and Phyllis had no children and she remarried. His great nephew, David Lennon, has provisionally identified him in the photograph of the ship's company. His body was not recovered and his name is recorded on the Chatham war memorial.

LITTLEWOOD, William J, Stoker 2c, C/KX 134156, MPK

LORD, Matthew, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 260968, MPK

MCANNA, Francis, Act/Leading Signalman, C/JX 144324, MPK

McAanna was commended for "Continual vigilance. He was instrumental in locating men in the water and in directing the operations of the lifeboats" during the rescue of seamen from a merchant ship which ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941.

MCCORMACK, Andrew, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 1995, MPK [105]

McCormack was one of the ratings commended for "Jumping overboard and rescuing men from the sea during a gale" when several merchant ships ran aground on Haisborough Sands on 6 August 1941. Anrewq McCormack was the 27 year old son of Thomas and Annie McCormack, of Glasgow.

MCDOUGALL, Duncan A, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2890, MPK [27]

MILLER, William, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2705, MPK

MILLS, Earton F, Able Seaman, C/JX 174174, MPK [47]

MILWAY, Charles J, Able Seaman, C/JX 174169, MPK

MOFFATT, John H, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2873, MPK [63]

MORRIS, Ronald D T, Stoker 1c, C/KX 107878, MPK

MOSES, Francis V, Ordinary Telegraphist, C/JX 197846, MPK [18]

Francis Victor Moses was born on 27 November 1919 at Crook in County Durham, the son of Walter Harrison Moses and Emma Elizabeth Moses. He was a 22 year old Telegraphist and a friend of Signalman John Gibbons and may have given him the photograph of them together included in his entry above. Do get in touch if you can identify him or provide further details of his life.

NUGENT, Joseph, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 1547, MPK [25]

O'CONNELL, Arthur, Telegraphist, C/JX 181097, MPK [110]

ORD, Ralph W E, Ty/Act/Petty Officer, C/JX 125038, MPK

READING, Leslie W H, Stoker 1c, C/KX 86194, MPK

Leslie Reading, Soker in HMS Vimiera

Leslie William Henry Reading was born in the East End of London in March 1916. He left behind a widow and a baby daughter, aged two months. He was able to see them just once, briefly, when the baby was a few days old.

His daughter, Janice Lesley Matthews, sent these brief details of his naval service shortly before the 80th anniversary of his death:

He joined the Navy in 1935 and was one of 160 stokers in HMS Kent when she was the Flagship on the China Station and a frequent visitor to Hong Kong. His name appears in the crew list in HMS Kent: An illustrated record of her commission as Flagship of the China Station, 1934-1936 (Ye Olde Printerie, Hong Kong, 1937). Kent went into Reserve at Portsmouth on 30 January 1937 and he returned to the Barracks at Pembroke 2 and "bought himself out" of the Navy when he married.

He was recalled when war was declared and joined the Light Cruiser HMS Calcutta after her conversion to an anti-aircraft cruiser in 1939 and served with her during the Norwegian Campaign and the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940. He left Calcutta in September 1940 (she was bombed and sunk on 1 June 1941 off Alexandria, Egypt) and joined HMS Vimiera on the 20 September 1941 and remained with her until his death when Vimiera was lost.

Janice Matthews added: "this is a small memorial for him, I would prefer not to give any more family details. His name is on the Naval Memorial at Chatham, a lovely memorial in a beautiful location. I have been able to visit and leave flowers for him. I am very proud of my father."

The portrait on the left was cropped out from a typical stylised full length studio portrait taken against an idealised backdrop of a country setting typical of photographs taken by young men for sending home to their family in case they were killed. The ribbon on his cap bears the name HMS Pembroke, the naval base at Chatham on the Medway.

RITCHIE, James, Ty/Act/Leading Seaman, C/JX 153195, MPK [32]

ROWLANDSON, Samuel R, Able Seaman, C/JX 143413, MPK [58]

RUCHLEY, John H, Able Seaman, C/JX 197599, MPK [64]

RUFFELL, Henry A G, Signalman, C/JX 268941, MPK

SHIELDS, Thomas D C, Able Seaman, RNVR, P/CD/X 2443, MPK [49]

SHIPP, Robert I, Chief Petty Officer Stoker (Pens), DSM, C/K 59747, MPK [70]

Service Certs - three!

SMITH, Frank, Able Seaman, C/JX 199235, MPK [26]

SMITH, Lewis E J, Ty/Act/Leading Seaman, C/J 113758, MPK [31?]

STEVEN, John S, Telegraphist, C/JX 154841, MPK

STONER, Reginald E, Ty/Act/Petty Officer, C/J 109677, MPK [73]

SWINTON, Thomas, Stoker 2c, C/SKX 1523, MPK

OD Robert "Roy" M Thomas (C/JX 277180) MPK [incorrectly identified as 38]

In October 2022 I was e-mailed these brief details by Deborah Protheroe, the niece of "Roy" Thomas, who was killed when HMS Vimiera sank less than a year after he was conscripted into the Navy"

The wedding of Roy Thomas and Peggy Little

"I'd like to pass on some details about Ordinary Seaman Robert M. Thomas (C/JX 277180, MPK) who was my mother's brother, known as Roy. He died before I was born but some photos and records have been passed on to me. Roy was born in Cardiff in 1911, and worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Labour at Llanelli. Roy was a quiet, thoughtful man who was fond of books and classical music, especially Mozart. He married Margaret (Peggy) Little in November 1940 - on right. They had no children. His war service began at HMS Ganges in May 1941, continued at HMS Pembroke I in July, and he joined HMS Cochrane II/Vimiera on 12 August. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial and the Ministry of Labour Staff War Memorial in Cardiff. Peggy never remarried. She worked at the Ministry of Labour at Llanelli until her retirement, and died in 2004. "

All the images reproduced here are courtesy of his niece, Deborah Protheroe; click to enlarge and view in a separate window. The names of the other men in the photographs below are not known but they all appear to have been taken at HMS Ganges so Roy is probably the only man in them who served in HMS Vimiera

Roy Thomas is on the right

He is sitting, second from the right in the second row, taken during training at HMS Ganges

Roy Thmas at HMS Ganges is on the left

THOMPSON, Harry H, Shipwright 1c, C/MX 47080, MPK [62]

THOMSON, Owen E, Able Seaman, RNVR, C/LD/X 5206, MPK [115]

TOMKIN, John W, Ty/Petty Officer Cook (S), C/MX 48337, MPK [85]

TREEN, Gerald F, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 277640, MPK

TUDOR, Norman A, Able Seaman, C/JX 187106, MPK [67]

Norman Alfred Tudor was a 22 year old Able Seaman, the son of Arthur and Alice Tudor, of King's Heath, Birmingham. He was unmarried and his medals were posted to his parents in Birmingham after his death and kept by them in the original package and were brought by his son in law, David Adderley, to the last reunion of the V & W Destroyer Association at Derby in 2017.

The medals awarded ol Norman Tudor killed when HMS VIMIERA samk on 9 Janmuary 1942

David Adderley also brought with him several photographs and other documents but it was not possible to copy these at the reunion in Derby but we are hoping to receive further details of Norman Tudor's short life and scans of photographs for adding to his entry. AB Norman A Tudor C/JX 187106, is thought to be number 67 in the photograph of the ship's company taken on the quayside at Rosyth in 1941 but it is difficult to identify him with certainty.

WATKINS, Thomas, Able Seaman, C/JX 184904, MPK [100]

WATSON, David, Stoker 1c, C/KX 100077, MPK

WAUGH, Joseph A, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 266912, MPK

WEBSTER, Stanley A, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX 183323, MPK

WHITNEY, Sydney, Ty/Act/Leading Seaman, C/JX 152423, MPK

WILKINSON, Charles R, Stoker 2c, C/SKX 1525, MPK

These details are taken from the web site of the Scotter Parish Council in Lincolnshire:

"Charles Roy Wilkinson was 19 when he died. He was born on 12th November 1922, 11th of the 13 children of William and Annie Wilkinson who lived at 14 The Green, Scotter, in Lincolnshire. The family called him Charlie and to friends he was known as 'Channy'. Charlie became a lorry driver's mate and seems to have been a likeable young man who was quite popular with the ladies. He had a reserved occupation but chose to serve his King and Country by joining the Royal Navy."

Two years after he died a memoriam was placed in the Gainsborough News:-

"A happy sailor boy so free;
Who did his bit, and sailed the sea,
We little thought when home he left,
To sail to his eternal rest"

From Mother and Dad.

WILSON, Archie W G, Leading Stoker, C/KX 84427, MPK [46]

WINSLEY, Charles E, Stoker Petty Officer, C/K 67136, MPK

Service Certs (3)