| Battle Tune:- Bonny Dundee |
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AWARDS. Mentioned in Despatches 23 February 1940 for Battle of the River
Plate while serving at HMS Exeter. |
 Midshipman D T McBarnet Lt D T McBarnet's Wedding Reversed rolls
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Her first Commission in July 1944
as R73, started when she joined the 6th Destroyer Flotilla,
Home Fleet and took part in three operations (“Selenium” a strike on enemy
shipping, ”Shred” to provide fighter cover for a mine laying flotilla and
“Groundsheet” a aircraft mine-laying strike served in Norwegian waters. She
was one of three destroyers sent from Scapa Flow to re-enforce convoy duties
Russian waters (including RA64 from which the Battle Honour “Artic 1945”
was awarded) left Kola Inlet on 17 February and been attacked by U-boats
and enemy aircraft, scattered during gales. She joined the convoy on the
evening of 23rd February : 31 of the 34 ships arrived safely in the Clyde
on the 1st March. At the end of the war in Europe on the 8th May 1945, she then joined the Western Approaches Command which enabled her to spend three days in August 1945 at her adoptive town of South Shields, Co Durham. She immediately left to relieve the 11th Destroyer Flotilla and join the British Pacific Fleet and spent a year on the East Indies Station, visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Java (with Ghurkas embarked), Australia and India (to control the Indian Navy mutiny), returning to Portsmouth in mid June 1946 prior to being put into the reserve fleet. ” However, she had been at sea with her ship’s company prior to this, when on 28th December 1944, conducting trials under the Red Ensign of her builders, her Captain responded to the torpedoing of the troopship Empire Javelin off Cape Barfleur on the North East coast of France and radioed C-in-C Portsmouth that he was proceeding at high speed with trials crew embarked, to the scene and with the efforts of all concerned, casualties amounted to only six men, all other passengers and crew being saved. Refit @ Gibraltar took place; 26th June 1947 until the7thSeptember 1947 Lt. Cdr. F. O. Winder RN (Commanding Officer) Between 1955 and 1957 Cavalier was modernised. She was taken to the Thorneycroft yard at Woolston where a modern Daring Class open bridge was fitted (which she still has), X gun removed, a new gunnery Mk6M Director installed, a single 40mm Bofors mounting either side of the Bridge and one twin 40mm Bofors aft, one bank of four torpedo tubes and twin squid anti submarine mortars all fitted, as well as an update on radar equipment. |
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Liverpool Docks 1946 (Courtesy of IWM ) |
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Rare photo by Pilot Officer Bruce Mackie from his Shackleton |
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