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HMS Manchester
HMS Manchester was a Southampton Class cruiser built by R & W Hawthorn Leslie and Co. Ltd. at Hebburn on Tyne. Launched in April 1937 she saw action during the Second World War and was torpedoed off Tunisia in August 1942.
3rd September 1939 On the Move
9th September 1939 Patrol
14th September 1939 Patrol
21st September 1939 Patrol
10th November 1939 Orders
13th November 1939 On the Move
17th November 1939 On the Move
18th November 1939 In Port
20th November 1939 On the Move
22nd November 1939 On the Move
25th November 1939 Into Port
23rd December 1939 On the Move
24th December 1939 On the Move
26th December 1939 Patrol
23rd July 1941 Ship sunk
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Want to know more about HMS Manchester? There are:15 items tagged HMS Manchester available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Able Sea. Thomas "Ron" Hall Gunner HMS Manchester   Thomas (Ron) Hall was born in South Shields, Co. Durham on 11 April 1917, the family home being in Hebburn-on-Tyne. Although christened Thomas, he was always known as Ron by his RN friends and his wife's family - no-one knows why! At the age of 16 he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Sailor. After training at the shore base HMS Ganges, he was sent for gunnery training at HMS Excellent, Portsmouth.
At the outbreak of war, he was serving on HMS Glasgow, but was transferred to HMS Barham, where he was wounded in May 1941. Barham had been assisting with the withdrawal of Allied forces from Crete, during which time she was subjected to almost constant German attacks. The gun turret in which Thomas was serving was hit, and he was the only one to emerge from the wreckage.
Posted ashore in Alexandria on 2nd July for rehabilitation, his next ship would be the Cruiser HMS Carlisle. On 9th April 1942, Thomas joined HMS Manchester, which had been assigned the role of escort to convoy WS-21S - better known as Operation Pedestal - the convoy which would save Malta from starvation and surrender. On 13th August, whilst rounding Cape Bon, Manchester was crippled by Italian torpedoes and was later scuttled off Kelibia Roads, Tunisia. Thomas survived and was taken prisoner and interned by the Vichy French at Laghouat in Algeria.
With the landing of British and American troops in Morocco and Algeria as part of Operation Torch on 8th November 1942, Thomas and his shipmates were able to return to England in December. After 8 months ashore, Thomas was assigned to the Destroyer HMS Janus, which provided artillery support for the Allied landings at Anzio on 22nd January 1944 under Operation Shingle. Janus was sunk the next day by a German air attack. Thomas was again saved, but the experience of being sunk for a third time would have a lasting effect on his nerves.
He was invalided out of the Royal Navy in November 1945, and died in 1973, aged 55.
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James Adams HMS Manchester Jim Adams joined the Royal Navy aged 16 in 1938, he served on HMS Tetcott and HMS Whitshed, HMS Manchester and HMS Spartan. He survived the sinking of both the Manchester which was torpedoed in 1942 and the Spartan in 1944.
The cruiser HMS Spartan off the coast of Italy providing support for the Anzio landings as part of Operation Shingle. While at anchor on the 29th of January 1944, Spartan was bombed at sunset by 18 enemy aircraft. A bomb blew a large hole in the upper deck, collapsing the mast and flooding the boiler room. The ship was set alight and keeled over to port. The crew abandoned ship and within just 10 minutes, the Spartan was on the seabed.
Five officers and 41 ratings lost their lives.
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Lt Cmdr. Bryce Clinkard HMS Manchester My Father was an officer on HMS Manchester during Operation Pedestal. He passed away in 2007 and his ashes were scattered over the site of the wreck of the Manchester.
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Ldg Stoker John Orman Angus HMS Manchester (d.23rd Jul 1941) John was 36 years old wehn he was killed. Manchester was an escort in Operation ‘Substance’ a Convoy from Gibraltar, when it was hit by torpedoes fired by the Italian E-boats Nos. 16 and 22. An oil fuel tank was hit, the adjacent compartments flooded and her engines were damaged, she returned to Gibraltar for repairs.
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Ray "Taff" Davies HMS Manchester My first ship was the destroyer HMS Cossack (LO3)and I was aboard when she was sunk by a German U-Boat in the North Atlantic in 1941. I was one of 58 survivors out of a ship's complement of 240. I spent 6 hours in the water and was able to help rescue a young Lieutenant who went on to become Rear Admiral Anthony Davies. Rear Admiral Anthony Davies eventually became the President of the Swindon Branch of the RNA and stayed in contact with me and my family until he passed
away a few years ago. We were eventually rescued by HMS Legion, which was under the command of Commander Jessel.
My next ship was the cruiser HMS Manchester that was sunk whilst escorting a Malta convoy in August 1942. We were in the water for 12 hours and eventually picked up by an Italian E-Boat and taken to Tunis. We were then tranferred by train to Algiers and truck to Laghouat POW camp, which was 320 miles into the Sahara desert. I spent 5 months in Laghouat and was then repatriated to Algiers where I took passage aboard the troopship Arundel Castle back to Rosyth in Scotland. I then travelled back to RNB Portsmouth before taking 2 weeks leave.
I then joined the light cruiser HMS Emerald and sailed for the Far East in January 1943 and patrolled the Indian Ocean for about 18 months before being recalled post haste back to the UK. We went straight back to Rosyth, we were not allowed any leave and once back at sea the ship's company was informed that it was D-Day - Operation Neptune to the navy. Our beachhead was 'Sword' and 'Juno' where we were attacked by a German bomber. The bomber dropped 5 bombs, 2 to port and 2 to starboard, buckling the port and starboard plates. The fifth bomb landed on a gun deck and remarkably did not explode. We spent 10 days on the beachhead.
In 1944 I joined the Hunt Class destroyer HMS Talybont (L18) and saw out the war in Europe. We then sailed to the med' for 2 1/2 years service on Palestine patrols. After the war I was called but because of the Korean war and I saw out my service until 1951 on HMS Battleaxe.
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Pte. William Ranner HMS Manchester My Grandfather served on HMS Manchester. His name was William (Bill Ranner) Private Royal Marines. His service docs show that he was interned after the sinking of the Manchester. I can only assume he made it ashore and was captured and held as a POW.
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Chaplin Donald Bruce Walker HMS Manchester Donald Walker was the R.N. Chaplin of HMS Manchester, after the ship was torpedoed he made it to the Tunisian coast and was taken POW by the Vichy French along with many of the crew.
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Stoker 2nd Class. Norman Greaves HMS Manchester (d.20 Oct 1942) Norman Greaves was 22 years old whne he was interned by the Vichy French in the Laghouat Camp in Tunisia, after surviving the torpedoing of HMS Manchester. On 20th October 1942 he attempted to escape through the perimeter wire after bribing the Arab sentry with a wristwatch, the Arab sentry took the watch then double crossed him and shot him in the back. A riot by the PoW’s was de-fused by Captain Drew R.N. demanding of the French Commandant that medical attention be given to Greaves. However, he was unconscious and never recovered. His burial service was conducted by the Reverend Donald Bruce Walker, the R.N. Chaplain of HMS Manchester
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