HMS Diadem
HMS Diadem

the diary of signalman John Emrys Williams

 

Between 2009-2011, I used Posterous to blog about HMS Diadem. I've now archived these 30 or so stories here on the HMS Diadem website.


 

 

Arctic Convoy “was absolute hell”
October 11th, 2011 was the original publication date.

Here’s a video on BBC News with a fantastic first-hand account of day-to-day life serving on the Arctic Convoys.
The scene where the veterans hug each other towards the end is so moving.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14725778





BBC video about call for medal for Arctic Convoy veterans
September 21st, 2011 was the original publication date.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-14214294



BBC News story about 70th anniversary
September 2nd, 2011 was the original publication date.

A ceremony was held on Sat 20 August 2011 at the Wester Ross memorial, above Loch Ewe, north-west Scotland mainland to mark the 70th anniversary of the first Arctic convoys. Operation Dervish, which ran from September 1941 to December 1944, saw ships gather in Loch Ewe before setting out to Murmansk and Archangel.

More than 3,000 seamen lost their lives to the freezing conditions and attacks by German submarines and aircraft.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14587976



Line up of ships Babur, Badr, Shahjahan, Tipu Sultan, and Jehangir
June 7th, 2011 was the original publication date.

Babur was the re-fitted Diadem


the copyright of this image belongs to Flickr user Doc Kazi



Dagenham RNA and their Secretary David Billet who served on HMS Diadem

April 19th, 2011 was the original publication date.

Story about David Billet, Dagenham, who served on HMS Diamond and HMS Diadem.
Local serving and ex-service members of Britain’s naval forces have met, every week, since 1936.


On Saturday 19 February 2011, members of Dagenham’s Royal Naval Association (RNA) branch are set to enjoy to a night of festivities at their headquarters – Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club – as they look back at 75 years of their organisation.

For secretary David Billet, the anniversary is an important moment in his life – and that of friends from the branch.
Dagenham resident David, 75 himself, served on both HMS Diamond and HMS Diadem.

He said: “We have around 80 members now and we’re all looking forward to celebrating the association’s birthday this month, along with other distinguished guests. It’s going to be an evening of nostalgia.

“Our youngest member is in his 20s and the oldest is in his 80s, so the association encompasses all age groups. Sadly, we’ve lost many members along the way, but they’ll all be remembered.”

The RNA started life in the UK in late 1935 as the Royal Naval Old Comrades Association.

It was set up for ex service members of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/thenews/Articles/Pages/Shipmates.aspx



The last Murmansk Convoys - PDF ebook by David Syrett
March 1st, 2011 was the original publication date.


http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol04/nm_4_1_55-63.pdf

Extracts:

"On 11 March 1945 Convoy JW-65 sailed from the Clyde for Murmansk escorted
by the cruiser H M S Diadem, escort carriers H M S Campania and Trumpeter, and a
number of destroyers and other vessels."

"RA-65 sailed from Murmansk on 24 March. H M S Diadem, Campania, and
Trumpeter departed in advance of the main body to provide air cover for the merchant-
men. Although the weather prevented carrier air operations until after 0735A, no U-boats
were encountered and only a few High Frequency Direction finder (HF/DF) bearings were
obtained from several U-boats to the west. Nonetheless, air patrols were flown around
RA-65 on 26 March to prevent U-boats from getting ahead of the convoy into an
attacking position."



HMS Diadem wall shield

February 15th, 2011 was the original publication date.

In memory of Edward Daltrey


found on Twitter.

(Note by GM May 2013: image is now gone)



HMS Diadem after her refit as PNS Babur in the Pakistan Navy
January 25th, 2011 was the original publication date.

Here’s a photo on Flickr in /pimu’s collection:


In the comments, Raheel I. Khan says "That would be the first PNS Babur, the former HMS Diadem (84), a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. We have had two more PNS Babur’s since. The following two are HMS London and HMS Amazon. Amazon being the current PNS Babur"
#end



D-Day - Order of battle
January 11th, 2011 was the original publication date.

JUNO BEACH - Assault Force "J"

Bombarding Force E: Rear Admiral Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton (HMS Belfast)


http://www.americandday.org/D-Day/Force_J-Order_of_battle.html



 

Movements of HMS Diadem
December 22nd, 2010 was the original publication date.

From the WAR DIARY OF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF, HOME FLEET
JANUARY 1945

HMS DIADEM 1945
June 1-5 Copenhagen
June 6 Left Copenhagen escorting NORDMARK
June 8 Arrived Rosyth
June 27 Left Rosyth
June 29 Arrived Oslo For Victory celebration
July 2 Left Oslo
July 4 Arrived Scapa
July 9 Left Scapa
July 11 Arrived Portsmouth to give leave
July 11-12 Portsmouth


http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWD-HF1945.htm


Eric Clifford, commander of Diadem at the end of WWII
December 14th, 2010 was the original publication date.

Vice Admiral Sir Eric George Anderson Clifford KCB CBE (1900-1964) was a Royal Navy officer who became Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.

He served in World War II as Commanding Officer of the destroyers HMS Mackay and HMS Salisbury and then as Naval Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet from 1941 to 1943.[1] In the closing stages of the War he commanded the cruiser HMS Diadem.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Clifford




Royal Navy Wiki Page linking to HMS Diadem Association

December 7th, 2010 was the original publication date.

This seems to be a wiki page belonging to the Royal Navy. If you click on the link to the HMS Diadem association, it takes you to a page which does not yet exist, inviting you to create it. Very mysterious:


http://royal-navy.org/lib/index.php?title=Royal_Naval_Associations



New Wikipedia entry about the Baltic Sea on 28 January 1945
November 30th, 2010 was the original publication date.

HMS Diadem and the part she played in a battle in the Baltic Sea on 28 January 1945:

"After Z34 was damaged Hetz decided to turn to the north and attempt to outrun the British cruisers. Z34 fired a third salvo of torpedoes as the flotilla made this turn, again without result, and the three ships laid smoke screens. The two cruisers also turned to the north to chase the German ships. This lead to a running battle in which Mauritius sustained a hit which did not cause any casualties and Diadem was struck by a shell six minutes later which killed one man and wounded three. "


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_28_January_1945



Moving photograph of Gold Beach troops
November 10th, 2010 was the original publication date of this article.



Copyright National Archives, USA



Detailed D-Day landing maps
November 3rd, 2010 was the original publication date.


http://www.warchronicle.com/50th_div/regimentals_wwii/5eastyorks_dday.htm




D-Day, Gold Beach and HMS Diadem

October 27th, 2010 was the original publication date.

Interesting forum post by BobFish - about halfway down this page - outlining the scale of the D-Day operations which sets the context of HMS Diadem’s role in the Gold beach landing.


http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/index.php?/topic/259-d-day-statistics/page__st__15



British light cruiser HMS Diadem on the River Tyne.
October 5th, 2010 was the original publication date.

This is an open-source photo from the Imperial War Museum’s collection. It’s great seeing photos like this being made available online under relaxed licences. I’d like to see more of the IWM’s photos and documents released under similar terms.



This is photograph No. FL 9948 from the Imperial War Museum collection No. 8308-29. This artistic work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain.


This is because it is one of the following:

It is a photograph created by the United Kingdom Government and taken prior to 1 June 1957; or

It was commercially published prior to 1960; or
It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created by the United Kingdom Government prior to 1960.
HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide (ref: HMSO


HMS Vanguard and HMS Diadem
June 15th, 2010 was the original publication date.

" This never before published photo shows HMS Vanguard (left) and HMS Diadem (right) from HMS Anson arriving at Portland, England.


(Photo from the collection of Ordinary Signalman Owen Vigeon, R.N.)
© Owen Vigeon all rights reserved
Scan by Philip J. Heydon, I.S.M."


quoted from
http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/
great_britain/battleships/vanguard_1944/hms_vanguard_1944.htm


 

We’ve never received any medals from the British Government.
May 18th, 2010 was the original publication date.

"We’ve never received any medals from the British Government."

These are the words quoted by former HMS Diadem shipmate Jack Harrison in his report in Belper News as he received a medal at the Russian Embassy for the part he played in the escort of the Russian Convoys in WWII:

http://www.belpernews.co.uk/news/Wartime-honour-for-Belper-veteran.6289829.jp

"Jack (85), took part in ten trips from Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, to Murmansk, in Russia. His ship, the HMS Diadem, was one of several flanking Merchant Navy ships which were carrying supplies to Russia.

"Sailors faced freezing temperatures, battering waves, and poor conditions for weeks on end during the trips, which were aimed at protecting the cargo ships from German submarine attacks.

"Jack said: "We just saw it as our job, but the Russians saw it as us supporting their war; like we were on their side. I never thought of it like that, but they saw it that we were helping them."

"I’m very proud to have been part of it. I’m pleased that I went but I wouldn’t want to do it again if they asked me. It was talked of as the worst job in the war."""



1949 photo taken from HMS Diadem on eBay
May 17th, 2010 was the original publication date.

There’s a photo on sale on eBay this week. Here’s how the seller describes the image:
"Shows elements of a four nation combined naval exercise in the English Channel. Under the command of Admiral Sir Rhoderick R McGrigor, c in c, the British Home Fleet practised manoeuvering, bombarding, and various other forms of naval warfare. Here, the French cruiser ‘Montcalm’ passes HMS Diadem, as she steams out of the anchorage at Mounts Bay, Penzance.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HMS-DIADEM-MONTCALM-1949-ORIGINAL-PHOTOGRAPH-/350352506220

I don’t long how long after end of auction images are left to be viewed.



HMS Diadem as Babur in Pakistan

May 11th, 2010 was the original publication date.

Some interesting photos of HMS Diadem in the 1960s after she’d been re-commissioned by the Pakistan Navy:


http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/navy/gallery/didoclass.html



Diadem in Chatham Dockyard, Belfast 1954
March 1st, 2010 was the original publication date.

This is an interesting scrapbook of the travels of the crew of USS Hickox in September 1954- February 1955. You can dynamically turn the pages of this PDF files online. If you search the text for "HMS Diadem", on Page 23, you’ll see a clipping from the Belfast Telegraph 2 Nov 1954:

http://www.archive.org/details/155othcb5518

"The distinctive flush -decked, tall- funneled shapes of two American destroyers were to be seen in Chatham Dockyard shortly before dusk on Wednesday, when the two United States ships. Capcrton and Hickox. locked-ln for a six-day operational visit…. A comprehensive programme of hospitality has been organised by the Reserve Fleet host ship, H.M.S. Diadem."



Steel model of HMS Diadem with HMCS Haida and Huron
January 13th, 2010 was the original publication date.

1/700 RN Diorama (HMS Diadem accompanies HMCS Haida and Huron on a channel sweep) by Chris Drage (Diadem: Skytrex metal kit, Haida & Huron: Ultracast)

http://www.steelnavy.com/gallery_dioramas.htm

posted by Gareth Morlais


Royal Navy Memories
January 11th, 2010 was the original publication date.

photo caption: HMS Diadem (Cruiser)was a Bellona-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was a modified Dido design with only 4 turrets but improved AA armament – aka Dido Group 2. She was built by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited (Hebbum- on- Tyne, UK), with the keel being laid down on 15 Dec. 1939. She was launched on 21 Aug.1942, and commissioned 6 Jan 1944

From:
http://royalnavymemories.co.uk/operation-kingdom/



Russian Convoy Club image
January 8th, 2010 was the original publication date.

photo of ship from http://www.russianconvoyclub.org.nz/MembersShips.htm



BBC’s The People’s War
January 8th, 2010 was the original publication date.

There are eight mentions of HMS Diadem in the BBC’s The People’s War archive:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/search/index.shtml?scope=ww2peopleswar&q=hms-diadem&x=0&y=0

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Photo from Battleship Cruisers site
June 19th, 2009 was the original publication date.

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/bellona_class.htm#HMS%20Diadem



Royal Navy Museum Gift Shop photo
June 16th, 2009 was the original publication date.

http://www.rnmuseumshop.co.uk/acatalog/dexterous-duke_of_york.html




Jack Harrison’s time on HMS Diadem
June 9th, 2009 was the original publication date.

Here’s a link to an article from the Argyll News about Jack Harrison:

“Jack was born in 1925 in Cleckheaton in North Yorkshire, joining the
Royal Navy in June 1943 when he was eighteen. His naval career began
with basic training at HMS Glendower - a shore-based establishment at
Pwllheli in North Wales which went on to become a Butlin’s Holiday
camp. This was followed by radio operator training on the Isle of Man.
When he finished this training, he was transferred to Thurso on the
north coast of Scotland via Portsmouth on the south coast, joining the
light cruiser HMS Diadem at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles.”

http://forargyll.com/2009/06/jack-harrison/

Note from GM May 2012: Because this article is no longer available, I'm taking the Argyll News's advice to Share literally by pasting this story from the Internet Archive's WayBackMachine:

 

Jack Harrison - another link in the story of the Arctic Convoys at Loch Ewe
newsroom published this on 9:16 pm, Friday, 5th June, 2009
Defence| News | Comments (rss) | Respond | Ping |


This is the one of two personal service stories For Argyll is publishing on this day, 6th June 2009, the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings that brought World War II to an end.

Jack Harrison’s service took him, via Thurso and Scapa Flow, to Murmansk and back many times on naval escorts for the Arctic, or Russian, convoys. It took him into engagement in the Normandy landings and other actions, including taking part in what became the last naval engagement of the war.

We have not been able to talk to Jack ourselves but we have been given his story by Mike Rowlands and we have done some additional research to develop it.

Jack was born in 1925 in Cleckheaton in North Yorkshire, joining the Royal Navy in June 1943 when he was eighteen.

His naval career began with basic training at HMS Glendower - a shore-based establishment at Pwllheli in North Wales which went on to become a Butlin’s Holiday camp. This was followed by radio operator training on the Isle of Man.

When he finished this training, he was transferred to Thurso on the north coast of Scotland via Portsmouth on the south coast, joining the light cruiser HMS Diadem at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles. (The photograph below is HMS Diadem in the Arctic Convoys in 1944. The image, by copyright holder MiniEntente, is in the public domain.)

Over the next three years he took part in ten Russian convoy return trips to Murmansk, an eight week engagement during and after the Normandy D Day landings, flank protection in the Bay of Biscay and mine laying off the Norwegian coast. He was also involved in the last naval engagement of World War Two, a clash with German Z class destroyers. Jack was eventually demobbed from the ’stone frigate’ - the shore establishment, HMS Collingwood in 1946.

In the late 1950s, Jack joined the North Russian Club (also known as the Russian Convoy Club)and was an active member until it was disbanded in 2001 due to its ageing and declining membership. In 1998, he visited Loch Ewe in Sutherland - the base for many of the Arctic or Russian convoys, with fellow member, Jimmy McHugh. (Jimmy McHugh was at the Arctic Convoy Tribute ceremony at Loch Ewe in October 2008 and is photographed there in a feature published by For Argyll.)

This was a nostalgic, yet enlightening journey for them as they’d never been ashore, only previously seeing the area from aboard their respective ships during war time.

They stayed at Pool House Hotel and, from conversations with the proprietor (who shared the same surname as Jack), discovered a common interest in the Russian convoys. The idea of a museum was hatched and subsequently developed by the Harrison family, the owners of Pool House, with assistance from Jack.

Jack became interested in a particularly heroic episode of the convoy period that affected the lives of five hundred Norwegian men, women and children. They had fled their homes in Hammerfest ahead of retreating German troops who were being pursued by advancing Russian forces. After surviving in remote caves, the refugees were rescued by Royal Naval destroyers Zest, Zealous and Zambezi accompanied by Canadian destroyer RCN Sioux (the former HMS Vixen). They were taken to Murmansk where they were distributed amongst vessels of several nations for transportation to the UK. (This is the story of the evacuation of the Norwegian island of Soroy in which Roy Elwood played a part from HMS Zambesi. For Argyll has recently published Roy’s story, which makes interesting reading alongside this.)

Nineteen of the Norwegians, comprising eleven adults and eight children were put aboard Liberty ship USS Henry Bacon. Unfortunately, she developed rudder problems after setting out and fell behind the convoy. The ship was then attacked and badly damaged by German bombers - Junkers 88s.

Radio messages were transmitted and the captain’s order was given to abandon ship, but only two of the four lifeboats were intact. The nineteen Norwegians, with six young crew members to man the oars and radio operator, Spud Campbell, were placed in one lifeboat. (Spud Campbell can be seen in a photograph in For Argyll’s feature on the Arctic Convoy Tribute Ceremony at Loch Ewe in October 2008. He has written a book about his experiences: Waves Astern)

The other serviceable lifeboat was packed with crew members but could not carry them all. Thirty-eight members of the crew stayed behind and perished when the ship went down in the freezing sea.

After the two lifeboats had been adrift for three hours, the aptly named British destroyer HMS Opportune appeared, responding to the radio distress signals. The occupants of both lifeboats were successfully transferred aboard and taken to safety in the UK.

Captain Neil Hulse MBE (Merchant Navy) was chairman of the North Russian Club until its disbandment. He presented Jack Harrison with the bell from SS Henry Bacon (pictured left) on condition that he would seek a maritime location for it. Additional engraving was added to the bell in memory of the Henry Bacon and, with convoy related documents, it was donated to Pool House Hotel, Loch Ewe for permanent display.

These will all be displayed in the Museum to the Arctic Convoys which is in planning at the moment and is to be located at Aultbea.

The bell commemorates not only the Russian convoys that operated from this location, but the aerial protection provided by the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm.

It is a permanent reminder of the courage, endurance and sacrifice of those who served in demanding and dangerous conditions. Among them are Jack Harrison, Jimmy McHugh, Roy Elwood, Spud Campbell, Reay Clarke, Jim Olsen, Jock Dempster and others whose service in these unimaginably daunting convoys For Argyll has been fortunate to help record.

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