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HMS Drake
HMS Drake is the main naval barracks at Devonport and an RN accounting base.
HMS Drake or Drake I, II III or IV appears on sailors records as their home base, they may not have physically been at Devonport between the dates shown as any time they are not allocated to another ship's crew, they revert to HMS Drake, this may happen while they are port awaiting their next ship or in transit on another ship but not part of the ship's crew.
4th Mar 1944 In Action
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
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Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
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Want to know more about HMS Drake? There are:1 items tagged HMS Drake 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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Andrew Alexander Adams HMS Drake A.A Adams was my grandfather, in the Royal Navy from 1936 to 1947. I am interested in finding information about a ship that he served on quite a number of times in his service, HMS Drake.
On the service record it has in brackets, after the ship name HMS Drake, a few different things for different times of service: for service in May 1941 it has M.L. 1048; for service from April to June 1944 it has LST(2) 425; for April to end of June 1945 it has T.F.36.
If anyone is able to help me with the smallest amount of information about this ship or about A.A. Adams it would be most appreciated, thank-you.
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AB. Arthur Taylor HMS Ashanti Arthur Taylor served in HMS Pembroke, HMS Ashanti and HMS Drake IV.
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Ord Tel. Norman Hall HMS Adventure My father, Norman Hall, was a telegrapher from Jan 1940 to Sept 1946. He served on HMS Drake, HMS Adventure, HMS Dolphin, HMS Medway, HMS Lanka, HMS Lucia, HMS Adamant, HMS Elfin, HMS Ambrose and HMS Seadog.
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Albert Quail HMS Afrikander I have my father Albert Quail's original Certificate of Service and the information below is taken from it:
Port Division: Devonport. HMS
Raleigh - 10 April 1940 - 13 May 1940. HMS Drake - 14 May 1940 - 31 December 1943. HMS Afrikander - 1 January 1944 - 16 June 1944.
HMS Kongoni - 17 June 1944 - 31 July 1944.
?? - 1 Aug 1944 - 4 September 1944.
Kongoni (Assegai) - 5 September 1944 - 6 September 1944.
HMS Drake - 7 September 1944 - 1946
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Wiremn. Peter Huntley Jose HMS Rodney Peter Jose served as a wireman on HMS Churchill, HMS Drake, HMS Defince and HMS Rodney.
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Able Sea. John Charles Pitchforth HMS Cabot John Pitchforth was my Father. He served in the Royal Navy from 17th of November 1941 to 30th of May 1946. He served on HMS Drake on 5 occasions, also also served on HMS Chitral, Ganges, Cabot, Ferret, Caroline, Dommett, Louis and Curzon, in that time and was awarded the 1939 to 1945 Star, The Africa Medal, The Italy Medal,The F and C Medal and the War Medal.
He was released Class A to shore in 1946.
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AB. John Francis Wall HMS Illustrious My Grandad, Jack Wall volunteered on the 19th of March 1941 and enlisted in the Royal Navy at Devonport.
He entered under NS( AF) Oct 1939.
He trained at HMS Raleigh 19th March to 26th March 1941
transferred to HMS Drake 27th March - 30th June 1941
He joined HMS Illustrious (aircraft carrier) 25th Dec 1941 - 11th Oct 1942 and served in the Loader gunnery station. He was in HMS Assigai 12th Oct 42 - 8th Nov 1942, HMS Lanka 9th Oct 1942 -3rd July 1944
Returned to HMS Drake 4th July 1944 - 2 Jan 1945
then HMS Malaya 13th Jan 1945 - 6th March 1945
HMS Drake 7th March to 21st Dec 1945 when he was released in class A Reserve.
Jack was wounded in action on 19th of March 1945. He visited Bombay,
Durban, Cape Town and Mombasa.
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Ord.Sea. Alfred Allcock HMS Royal Arthur My dad, Alfred Allcock, spent time at HMS Royal Arthur upon joining the Royal Navy on the 28th of December 1939.
He was transferred to HMS Drake for further training on the 7th of February 1940.
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William Thomas Forbes Finch HMS Drake William Finch served in teh Royal Navy during WW". Sorry not much information, only the ship named in his certificate of service.
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ERA4 Robert Dennis "Peter" McEwan HMS Flora Robert McEwan served on the following ships, 04/05/43 - 22/10/43 Drake Era 5,
23/10/43 - 22/02/44 London Polytechnic,
23/02/44 - 20/03/44 Drake,
24/03/44 - 03/05/44 Flora (Reading),
04/05/44 - 20/06/45 Flora (Reading) Era 4,
01/07/45 - 09/07/45 Cochrane II (Reading),
10/07/45 - 05/12/45 Drake,
06/12/45 - 04/04/46 Dodman Point,
05/04/46 - 20/05/46 Drake,
21/05/46 - 31/07/46 Excellent (Onslaught),
01/08/46 - 23/12/46 Forth (Onslaught).
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PO. Michael Dinneen HMS Hecla Michael Dinneen joined Royal Navy as a stoker on 14th of February 1939, serving on many ships including HMS St Angelo, HMS Boscawen, HMS Hecla, HMS Quebec, HMS Tyne, and HMS Nile for 12 years until he bought out his engagement and soon after emigrated to New Zealand.
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Slt. Basil Henry Foulds RMS Lusitania (d.21st June 1944) Basil Foulds was my paternal grandfather who ran an antiques business in Fowey, Cornwall during the 1930s.
At the outbreak of WW2, he was 35 years old and he volunteered to join the RNVR. He served from 25th of July 1940 to his death from natural causes on 21th of June 1944. His service began as an engine man on HMS Poulmic.
He continued to serve as an engine man on a number of small vessels until his promotion to Temporary Paymaster Sub Lieutenant on HMS King Alfred in May 1942. He also served in land based establishments HMS Drake and HMS Cabbala until April 1944 when he was assigned to HMS Lusitania in the Azores for supply duties.
HMS Lusitania was a hulk ship renamed from HMS Chanticleer a RN Sloop which was struck by a Gnat from U Boat 515 in November 1943 east of the Azores. Sadly, like many servicemen in the RNVR he contracted poliomyelitis and was airlifted back to RAF Lynham. He died on active service in RD Hospital Yatesbury on 21st of June 1944 and was buried in his home town of Fowey. His grave is marked with a CWG headstone.
He was a grandfather I never knew and his death was a terrible blow to my father who was just 15 years old in 1944. A good father to me, he respected his father’s own war service by going to sea in 1947 as an apprentice in the RFA and eventually progressed to Master Mariner in the MN.
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