Naval Service

Hello
I know it's a tall order but my father recently gave me this list of ships and shore establishments he served with . Can anybody help me with information on them? Iv'e managed to get information on the Euryalus but I've not had much luck with the others. If you could point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

HMS St George Sept. 1940
HMS Euryalus Dec 41 – 1943
HMS Nile Canopus
HHMS Aetos
HMS Mercury 1945
LST 301 1945/46
HMS Cape Wrath 1946/48
HMS Mercury 1948
HMS Thesues 1948/49
HMS Stormcloud 1949/50
HMS Camarata 1950
HMS Finisterre 1950
HMS President Sept. 1952 – Jan 1954
Released Jan – Feb 1954

 

I'm surprised that Google hasn't thrown up more information on them. There are books about "Ships of the RN" - including the one I have by J J Colledge (revised Lt Cdr Warlow 2003) - ISBN 1-85367-566-0, and various websites. Sounds like your dad was a communicator.

Here's some starters for you:
www.mariners-l.co.uk/UKRNMainBases.htm+%22hms+St+George%22&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=8]HMS ST GEORGE[/url], temporary boys training establishment at Howstrake Holiday Camp while GANGES was being used for HO ratings,
HMS MERCURY was the shore training establishment for Communicators,
His Hellenic Majesty's Ship (HHMS) AETOS was an old Greek destroyer, originally built for the Argentines, which served with the RN in the Med.
HMS CAPE WRATH, was a forward repair ship,
HMS STORMCLOUD was a minesweeper.
HMS FINISTERRE was a destroyer,
HMS THESEUS was an aircraft carrier,
HMS PRESIDENT was the ship moored in the Thames that was technically the parent unit of all sailors in the Admiralty. It's still there, in fact!

Unless it was a shore establishment, there was never a HMS NILE CANOPUS or HMS CAMARATA in the Royal Navy as far as I can tell, and the LSTs all had 4 numbers, such as LST 3010-3019.

I hope this helps.

 

Hello
My dad was a telegraphist. I seem to remember him saying something about nile canopus and camarata being onshore, I'll quiz him about it and see if he remebers a bit more, but it was a while ago! I'll keep trying to find out more.
Thanks for your help

 

Almost certainly, your Dad was a Communicator (Flags/Tel). Difficult to know where to go now but try Googling 'HMS MERCURY'

 

Try www.servicepals.com you will have to join but you will get all the info you need on there from the ex matelots. You may even get photo's of your dads ships. They are all extremely helpful in this kind of case. Good Luck.

 

The shore base CANOPUS was at Alexandria a training establishment and the paying accounts were based at NILE which was the Depot at Alexandria

LST 301 was a Tank Landing Ship built in the USA and a lease lend ship
from early 1943 and returned to the USNavy in 1946

The name beginning CA was possibly CASSANDRA a Ca class destroyer

 

Hello again
Thanks to every one who has replied. I'm getting more info from the old man bit by bit and thanks to your help I'm finding more info myself when I correct his spelling.
Canopus was, or at least part of it, was a sig. training school, my dad tells me this was where he sat his L/Tel. exam.
The HMS Camarata was in fact the RN barracks Camarata.
As for HMS President he tells me it was Whitehall W/T. Whatever that was.

 

Well my old man was on Euryalus at same time; must have known yours.
As the 'L' officer (ex lower deck) - he served from Feb '41 to End '43.
- Unfortunately not around these days.

I was in Alex July '43 and faintly remember Nile Canopus, was it a Depot Ship? Suggest your dad went there after leaving Euryalus waiting transport; then possibly took passage home on Aetos.

Como

 

HMS Canopus was a shore establisment in Alexandria - some info on:-

www.naval-history.net/WW2MemoirAndSo06.htm - 25k - Cached

Whitehall W/T - Whitehall Wireless/Telegraphy station

Hope this is of use

 

Camarata Barracks was accomodation in Valleta, Malta. Apparently they are flats now but still called Camarata.

Keep Striving

 

It sounds like your father was in the same field as mine. He was based at Mercury, and Camarata roughly the same time. Camarata was a shore establishment in Valletta, Malta - a lot of combind operations were carried out there in preparation for Suez. If you simply goggle these names you will get all the information you need. If he was a wireless operator/sonar/radar mechanic he is likely to be on shore establishments/depot ships either preparing for exercises, training, or maintenance.

 

Apart from the hMS Euryalus Association website, which I think you have found, there is

Bush - Bless Our Ship - AbeBooks

(other copies available from e-bay, Amazon etc) which, as Captain Bush's autobiography, chronicles Euryalus' fairly hairy adventures in the Med under his command. As a Telegraphist as opposed to a Signalman your father would not have had a ringside seat - he would have been between decks somewhere - but would have been in the know about many of the signals coming and going by Morse.

 

Yes as a telegraphist I suppose he would know more about what was going on than most.
Thanks for all the help chaps.

 

AETOS was a Greek destroyer that served with the Allies, presumably he would be part of hr RN liaison team.

 

Hi all. I recently came into possession of my dad's diary from ww2, and on a few occasions he passed through Canopus (he was a bunting, like me). In between stints there he served on Jervis, Erica and SS Princess Marguerite. I am currently engaged in writing a book about his service in ww2