Timeline.

At the time HMS Kelly was light Mediterranean grey as it was due to leave the UK to join the Mediterranean Fleet, but as war was drawing near, Kelly was ordered to be painted in drab Home Fleet grey. A faint glimmer of daylight appeared on the other side of the bridge screens, but the water was churning round and I could distinguish nothing. He was frequently visited by Kelly survivors visiting Malta but above all by Lord Mountbatten with whom he kept corresponding. But in the morning Kelly was still afloat and so Mountbatten and his volunteers returned aboard. Required fields are marked *. The HMS Kelly Association hosts reunions and commemorations. Access to this site is limited to members of the HMS Ganges Association. His last confidential reports read: “A veryefficient Chief Petty Officer Steward, extremely hard working and completely reliable. On June 1, 1941, during a passage with HMS Coventry, while providing anti-aircraft protection during the British evacuation from Greece, Kelly was attacked by two Junkers 88s and was hit by two bombs. Shortly after we started firing at her she blew up in a very spectacular way. He was a survivor of the sinking. In fact it was deployed for convoy escort in the Mediterranean, calling at Alexandria with other cruisers and travelling through the Aegean Sea. I yelled to him to ’swim like hell’ because I was afraid that the propellers would hit him. HMS Kelly (pennant number F01) was a K-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, and flotilla leader of her class. Norway (1940) I also knew that William was commemorated on the monument at Chatham but I never knew he was also commemorated on the monument at Lenzie Old Parish Church. Copyright © 2020 Times of Malta. I know its a long shot but I would be very grateful if anyone has any information. At 12.10 a.m., Mountbatten was alone on the bridge when he heard the roar of engines. Salvo Baldacchino passed away on May 8, 2000. After having completed our bombardment we withdrew at high speed and came across another caique carrying ammunition. The next one also missed. 1st Class Stoker William Mitchell was my mothers cousin. Cheer’s Campbell. Mountbatten at once assessed the damage with his crew as the ship lay dead in the water. Steaming at 35 knots, he made for Kelly.

Mountbatten was patron of the Kelly Reunion Association until his tragic death by a remote-controlled IRA bomb on August 27, 1979 in Ireland. A probable ‘kill’ was registered though Admiralty Intelligence confirmed that there were no U-boats in the vicinity. I pulled the mouthpiece and tube out of my waistcoat and blew up the rubber ring. The awful part was that even after we were upside down we continued to race through the water, though, of course, at a rapidly decreasing rate. we were apprentices in the city, he went down in HMS Kelly. Slowly, infinitely slowly, the water got brighter and lighter and then suddenly with lungs bursting I broke surface. My dad served on the Kelly his name was Vaughan Eric North. On 8 May, following the loss of HMS Jersey to a mine and the subsequent clearance of her wreck, the flotilla left Malta and joined Ajax, Dido, Orion and Perth to escort supply convoys to Egypt and Greece (Operation Tiger).

He then ordered depth charges and torpedoes set to “safe” and jettisoned. I believe he was in the engine room and on duty when the Kashmir was hit. Inline images in messages are the copyright of the respective linked sites. He was finally discharged on December 1972, after having spent a total of 37 years’ service with the Ministry of Defence. My dad was on the Kelly (I believe) and the story I was told that he was in the water with Lord Mountbatten for 22 hours? In April 1941 she joined HM ships Abdiel, Dido, Jackal, Jersey, Kashmir, Kelvin and Kipling at Gibraltar to form Force S, an escort for reinforcements to the Mediterranean Fleet (Operation Salient). His name was Frederick Green. When entering your 'ships served on' do not use full stops, commas or anything else just start a new line after each ship. He first served aboard the destroyer HMS Anthony for seven months, followed by two months on the destroyer HMS Imogen and the submarine depot ship HMS Maidstone. Sadly due to the Corona Virus the association has had to cancel plans for a reunion this year.

Later the ship sailed to the Atlantic in pursuit of the oiler Altmark, used to replenish the German battleship Graf Spee. At 11 p.m. Bulldog passed a line aboard and began towing Kelly very slowly with Kandahar standing by. I gasped for breath, but the next moment I saw the stern of the ship approaching us with both our great propellers still revolving in the air. Members who served with HMS Andromeda. Salvo and the Kelly survivors attended his funeral in London to show respect to their former commanding officer. I suddenly saw the water rise on our port side in a raging torrent of over 30 knots and thinking, ‘Whatever happens I must stay with the ship as long as I can.

We both managed to get clear, but only by a matter of six or seven yards. Also this years Cenotaph march is also canceled another of the great get togethers that has become a significant event in our Hermes year. Almost at once the crew heard a bump under the destroyer’s hull. She arrived in Malta on the 28th and was deployed with her flotilla to join Force K for attacks on Axis shipping to North Africa. I gave the order ‘hard-a-starboard’ to bring the ship under the dive bomber to force it to dive ever steeper in the hopes they would finally be pushed beyond the vertical and lose control. 87s. Both ships avoided the bombs. Then my other Uncle Robert Draper flew for the Canadian Royal Airforce and was shot down over Holland in WW2 (He flew as a Gunner in the plane) and a lake (Draper Lake) near Urannium City in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. On return to Hebburn shipyard she was de-commissioned before undergoing extensive repairs; she was not fit for active service until December 1940. Mountbatten ordered Kelly alongside the one that was burning.

My grand grandmother received a letter for a survivor called H.R.King, I still have the letter. Out of the darkness shot a German motor torpedo boat at 40 knots with guns blazing. She served through the early years of the Second World War; in Home Waters, off Norway and in the Mediterranean. Google Chrome

They were hard to distinguish against the rising sun, but presently we could see that they broke up into two parties of about 12 in each. They had a reputation for diving almost vertically on ships and only releasing their bombs when they were so low that they couldn’t miss. By evening the weather got worse and the towline kept parting.

For the full account see Naval Historical Society of Australia. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were brought from France, where they were living, back to Britain on board HMS Kelly. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee. He then called for volunteers to heave ammunition overboard.

Thank you for sharing that Anne Anderson. She served through the early years of the Second World War; in Home Waters, off Norway and in the Mediterranean. The destroyer was then off to Portland for exercises and a “work-up” period to enable the crew to familiarise themselves with their ship and their duties, and with each other. As the sun rose a German Dornier 215 appeared out of the east and was engaged before she dropped five bombs which missed Kelly astern; forty minutes later three more Do. Notable supporters of the association have included HRH Prince Charles and Sir John Mills. While Mohawk put a party aboard Atheltemplar, and Joffre and Langton took the tanker under tow, Kelly herself was taken in tow by Great Emperor and returned to the Tyne.

However, after a short spell at home Salvo could not resist the call of the sea. However, one day it was so rough that the vessel started pitching and rolling heavily. We recently published a revised version of our, Salvo and other stewards and cooks were busy preparing hot food and drinks for the strickenseamen who includedtheir commanding officer, Orders came to abandon ship.

The Brown Ranger again was next and finally the Tideflow.

Fuel oil and a lot of dead fish appeared on the surface.

Canada named lakes after fallen service men and women I believe….Anyway I wonder how to find about about the history of Ray Draper and his training directly under MountBatten and the “train unleashing prank -advised never to return to England !. Google her - there is an enormous amount, including an ex-crew association. Mozilla Firefox. He qualified as a seaman officer in anti-submarine warfare and became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Her bad luck had seen her on active service for less than two weeks over the previous 14 months. At this moment up bobbed one of our stoker petty officers, a great character and a bit of a humorist. All rights reserved. I’ve been trying for years but keep hitting dead ends. Kelly did succeed in shooting down three of the attacking Stukas, while another was badly damaged and crashed upon returning to base. I had my Gieve waistcoat on, but had not blown up the rubber ring which is fitted in the waistcoat. Tim draper I knew your grandfather and grandmother remember them fondly. Notable supporters of the association have included HRH Prince Charles and Sir John Mills. I must be the last to leave her alive.’. Salvo was assistant steward in the ward room. He isa conscientious, trustworthy and a most pleasant man.”.

He remained on board with five officers and 12 men. The ship was put to sea with HMS Acheron on anti-submarine exercises. I left the RN in 2000 and took up work at ATS in Swaffham Norfolk, I bitterly regretted throwing away my tin hat; you have no idea how naked one feels in the water without one when one is being machine-gunned. All of us knew that we were on a ship that had a jolly good captain and we were all willing to do our best at all times.”. Your email address will not be published. She was named after Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly. I put the telegraphs at ‘full ahead’. HMS Kipling developed steering problems and was detached. Please make contact. Hi there - welcom to Rootschat. Among the crowds who were there to greet the Queen were nine survivors from the HMS Kelly Reunion Association.

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