|
|
|
Those known to have sailed in HMS Glasgow during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Box Coryn Arthur.
- Caunter Frederick Richard . Able Sea.
- Denyer Jack Walter.
- Gange Edward Charles. Able Sea
- Hall Stanley George. AB.
- Hall Thomas. Able Sea.
- Hall Thomas. Able Sea.
- Henshaw James.
- Lynch Augustine Joseph.
- Marpole John.
- Peterkin William. AB
- Robertson Alex Main. AB
- Smith Richard Rothwell. PO.
- White Geoffrey Richard. O.Tel.
- White Geoffrey Richard . Tel.
- Woods Albert George. Marine
- Woodward Richard Walter. Able Sea.
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
Records of HMS Glasgow from other sources.
|
|
|
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 18th Dec 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
265120 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
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. |
|
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
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
Want to know more about HMS Glasgow? There are:19 items tagged HMS Glasgow 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. |
|
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.
|
PO. Richard Rothwell Smith HMS Cairo Dad, Richard Smith joined the Royal Navy at HMS St Vincent in 1935 at the age of 15 and a half, he served for 15 years. He was a PTI.
His ships were:
HMS Ramilies,
HMS Iron Duke, HMS Hood, HMS London, HMS Coventry, HMS Cairo, HMS Montclare
and HMS Glasgow.
He was on HMS Cairo at the time she was torpedoed while on Operation Pedestal
He died in 1996.
|
John Marpole H.M.S. Glasgow John Marpole was my mother, Mary's brother. He served in H.M.S. Glasgow during WW2.
|
AB. Stanley George Hall HMS Glasgow Stanley Hall was on board the HMS Glasgow during the Battle of Biscay.
He earned the Atlantic and Burma Star.
|
Able Sea. Frederick Richard Caunter HMS Glasgow Frederick Caunter enlisted in January 1940. He served in HMS Ganges, HMS St George, HMS Victory, HMS Glasgow and HMS Howe. He was discharged in February 1945 as physically unfit for Naval service.
|
AB Alex Main "Sandy" Robertson HMS Glasgow My father, Alex Robertson served on the HMS Glasgow, and the Mine sweeper Felixstowe. Later he became one of the first frogmen of the British Navy.
He was born in Clive, Alberta, Canada. In 1921 his father was gassed at Vimy Ridge, died a year later. His mother returned to Scotland and he attended Donaldson's school. Later he attended HMS Ganges and was known to sit at the top of the mast there.
Alex saw service in Gibraltar. He worked at clearing every beach before the Normandy invasion. When asked at the 50th anniversary of D-day, which beaches he was on he replied all of them. Later I found a story of him and another sailor eating a chicken. He was at the siege of Gibraltar, the raid on Normandy. Prior to this raid he and others got caught swimming nude in the Firth of Forth and got sent to Scapa Flow.
He was in Malta when the Exodus came in and was the officer who threw the Captain overboard when he reached under his lapel.
|
James Henshaw HMS Glasgow James Henshaw served on HMS Glasgow and was injured December 1940 when the ship was damaged by enemy action, aircraft attack in Souda Bay, Crete.
|
Tel. Geoffrey Richard "Knocker" White HMS Glasgow My father, Geoffrey White, joined the Royal Navy in May 1939 as a sixteen year old Boy Second Class.
His first sea going appointment was as an Ordinary Telegraphist on HMS Glasgow on 30th of October 1940.
Serving on her in the Mediterranean (where she was torpedoed at Souda Bay) and on convoy escort duties in the Indian Ocean.
He left her at New York in June 1942 when the Glasgow underwent major repairs.
He was subsequently involved in Operation Torch and its aftermath with bases at HMS Hannibal, HMS Byrsa, HMS Elissa (Augusta) until 19th of November 1944 when he returned to a UK based shore appointment at HMS Mercury as a Leading Telegraphist.
He remained in the Royal Navy until retirement as a Chief Radio Supervisor on 16th of May 1968.
|
Marine Albert George "Timber" Woods My Dad, Albert Woods joined the Royal Marines in 1940 age 17, 92 days before his 18th birthday.
He served on HMS Penelope from 7th of July 1941 to 8th to April 1942. He was wounded in both legs when she was being bombed in Malta. He spent time in the military hospital there being put back together. He had to send photos of himself with his legs on show to his mum as she was convinced he had lost his legs. He also made a BBC broadcast to her on 11th April 1943 from Malta so he must have been there for quite a long time.
He then went on to serve on: - HMS Howe 1944-1946.
- St. George June to Nov 1946.
- HMS Glasgow Dec 1946-Nov 1947
- HMS Indomitable May-Sept 1950.
- HMS Implacable Sept-April 1953
My dad and mum married in 1948 and mum took me, age 2, to live in Southsea not far from Eastney Barracks. So that we could be with him. I can remember going to the barracks and the NAFFI with my mum she always gave me a Banjo chocolate biscuit, boy did that taste good.
I have been back to Southsea and it holds many happy memories for me. Dad didn't like to talk about the war. It's only since they have both died that I have found papers, photos and other things in their belongings when we cleared the house that I have been able to do some research into where he was and what he did in the war.
He lost his best friend in the bombing of the Penelope in Malta. I only know his first name was Danny. If anyone can give me any other information I would be grateful. I am very proud of him and all the other personnel that fought for this country. We have donated his medals to the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth.
|
Able Sea. Richard Walter "Woody" Woodward HMS Glasgow Richard Woodward served in HMS Glasgow.
|
Able Sea. Thomas "Ron" Hall HMS Janus  Thomas Hall, always known as Ron, was my father, and he joined the RN in 1933, aged 16. He trained as a gunner at HMS Excellent Gunnery School, and served on HMS Revenge, HMS Boreas and HMS Wild Swan before the war.
He became an Able Seaman in 1936, and in 1937 joined the cruiser HMS Glasgow.
In January 1941, he was drafted to HMS Barham, and was in the gun turret when a Stuka bomb exploded there in July. He was the only survivor of the gun crew. He was sent to HMS Sphinx Naval Camp, Alexandria, Egypt for rehabilitation, and at the end of July went to HMS Carlisle. There then followed a period of leave in Portsmouth before joining HMS Manchester in April 1942.
On 13th August, Manchester was hit amidships by two torpedoes fired by Italian torpedo boats, and was subsequently scuttled, being too damaged to save. 312 of the crew were rescued, but after being in the water for several hours, Dad and several others got ashore in Tunisia, where they were interned by the Vichy French in Laghouat, Algeria, where conditions were horrendous and without compassion. They were liberated by Allied forces on 19th October during Operation Torch.
After a period of shore time, Dad was sent to HMS Janus in July 1943. As part of Operation Shingle, Janus provided artillery support for the Allied landings at Anzio. On 23 June 1944, she was hit and sunk by a torpedo from a German He111 aircraft. Thomas again survived, but after spending time on shore at Portsmouth, and 3 months at HMS Merganser, Aberdeen, he was invalided out of the Navy on 9 November 1945.
His nerves were in a bad way, not surprisingly, but after a few other jobs, he joined the Merchant Navy in 1954, and served as a steward on the Cunard ships Queen Mary and Samaria. Stomach ulcers forced him to leave after a couple of years, and he became a painter, decorator and signwriter.
He died on 31st January 1973, aged 55, after suffering stomach operations, and the removal of one lung. His medals - the 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Italy Star and War Medal - plus a short history, can be found at Eden Camp Modern History Museum, Malton in N. Yorkshire.
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
|
|
