Mine swept
In 1944–45 she was named St Angelo II, acting as a minesweeping base ship. Harwich, 4th July 1919 – Sailed Harwich for Gibraltar. History: November 1918 – 6th Minesweeper Flotillas. HMS Fareham was a Hunt Class minesweeper built by Dunlop Bremner & Co, Glasgow. The Harwich Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Auxiliary and Minesweeping Patrol Memorial (situated at the junction of Lower Marine Parade and Fronks Road on Harwich seafront) commemorates those officers. On November 25th, 1916, the British navy hired trawler Burnley was sunk by a mine from the German submarine UC-4 off Orfordness. HMT Burnley was a steam fishing Trawler Built by Smith’s Dock Co, Middlesbrough in 1916. She was finally withdrawn and scrapped by Dover Industries Ltd at Dover Eastern Docks in 1952.
For the next three years she operated excursions from Bournemouth in the summer. After refitting at Thorneycroft’s yard at Northam she was commissioned in the spring as the company’s second Lorna Doone. In January 1949 she was sold to Red Funnel and transferred to Southampton. After the war she was returned in 1946 to her owners to recommence excursion work around the Thames Estuary. Subsequently she was stationed at Dungeness. For Operation Overlord in June 1944 she was stationed at Peel Bank off the Isle of Wight as the Mulberry Accommodation & Dispatch Control Ship. In September 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty for minesweeping duties once more and commissioned as HMS Queen of Kent, pennant number J74.
Regular excursions took her to Gravesend, Margate, Clacton and Dover. For the next twelve years she could be found working from Sheerness and Southend. She was sold to The New Medway Steam Packet Company on 12 August 1927 and converted for excursion work on the Medway and Thames. Post war she was transferred to the Mine Clearance Service. For the rest of the war she served with the Auxiliary Patrol. Built by Ailsa Shipbuilding at Troon in Scotland, she was launched on 14 April 1916. HMS Atherstone was a Racecourse-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. 1762DA).†, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial. Kemp, Frederick Robert (46), Skipper. , Memorial: Hull Western Cemetery. 236ES).†, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial. Mary’s) ChurchyardĬoultas, Charles (39), Engineman (no. 73/DA).†, Memorial: Hull Western Cemetery.Ĭhristie, William (33), Deck Hand (no. Mary’s) Churchyard.īenson, George Walter, Second Hand (no. 56ES).†, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial.īailey, William Alfred, Signalman (no. 8 of the crew were killed.Īngus, Alexander (28), Engineman (no. HMT Ameer was sunk on 18th March 1916 by a mine from the German submarine UC-7, off Felixstowe. With other Harwich sweepers clearing minefield discovered that morning, and in fact laid that morning by UC.1 Sank off the Shipwash Sands, off Orford Ness 9 ratings lost. HMT Agamennon was a admiralty trawler hired in 1914 as minesweeper, No.19, Harwich-based, Skipper Frederick Sibley RNR. By the end of the war, British minesweeping forces comprised 726 vessels including 110 regular naval vessels (mostly Acacia Class, Azalea Class, Arabis Class, Hunt Class and Aberdare Class Fleet Sweeping Sloops), 412 trawlers, 142 drifters, 52 hired paddle steamers and 10 Dance Class ‘Tunnel Tug’ shallow draught minesweepers.Ģ14 British minesweepers had been lost in action while sweeping over 30,000 mines. This was vitally important but extremely dangerous programme in 1917 the paddle steamers alone destroyed around 400 enemy mines.īy 22 Aug, a further 100 trawlers had been commandeered and fitted out. The Harwich Company numbered under 100 trawlers, mine drifters and steamers, manned by 1500 men. Had the important task of clearing enemy mines from the sea routes, and attacking enemy mine-laying submarines, for which they received a prize for every vessel destroyed. Other GER steamers were used as supply and hospitals ships, as well as taking cargo and passengers back and forth to neutral Holland. The “Trawler Reserve” was a combination of fishing vessels manned by fisherman together with GER vessels and Paddle steamers. Sailors operating a Maxim gun, Harwich, 15th April 1918.