Notes:

1. The Dim View, I & E Bulletin,313th Infantry, No. 15 (25 July 1945), p.2.

2. Idem.

3. Idem.

4. H. Lobdell, Bronze Star, Soldiers Magazine (October 1986), p.20.

5. These retroactive awards are still being made to qualifying veterans. Only World War II CIB/CMB recipients are eligible; no soldier who received the CIB or CMB later qualifies under this provision. In addition to CIB/CMB recipients, all soldiers cited in orders or awarded a certificate of exemplary conduct in ground combat may receive a Bronze Star. Idem.

In September 1983. the Army authorized retroactive Bronze Stars to soldiers asigned to units awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation while serving on Luzon and Corregidor from December 7, 1941 to May 10, 1942.

6. AR 600-45, paragraph 13a, 2 May 1927.

"Stone Frigates" of the Royal Navy in North America

Jeffrey B. Floyd (OMSA 1136)

Long Service and Good Conduct Medals of the Royal. Navy are fairly common medals. As with most British medals, however, they are distinguished by being named. The naming will include the individual’s service number, name and ship of assignment. The ship’s name can evoke Britain’s long naval history, such as HMS Ark Royal, or it can be obscure, such as HMS Saker. If the ship turns out to be a "stone frigate", the collector may discover that it participated in no major battles and, in fact, never went to sea at all. However, the lack of

3! sea-going prowess should not deter the collector.

In Royal Navy parlance, a "stone frigate" is a shore establishment, whether a depot, a training base, or some kind of support facility. Because of legal requirements, everyone in the Royal Navy had to be assigned to a ship, so shore establishments were given proper names and treated as sea- going ships. Thus, the training establishment at Portsmouth became HMS Dryad, for example.

Over the years, the Royal Navy established numerous "stone frigates" in North America. A Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to one of these facilities is quite uncommon, as the recipient had to be assigned to the facility at the time of the award. So, before passing over a medal named to HMS Saker because you have never heard of a ship by that name, you might consider that the "stone frigate" in this case is part of the British Embassy in Washington, DC.

What follows is a listing of "stone frigates" in North America. It lists the name, the function, the location, and the dates of operation. While it is uncommon for more than one ship to bear the same name simultaneously, it is common for names to move quickly and to totally unrelated ships, so timing of awards is critical to determining just where a man served.

This is not meant to be a definitive history or list of the facilities, since the records often do not distinguish between "stone frigates" and other ships. This list is simply a signpost in researching Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct medals, where there can be more than meets the eye in a ship’s name.

"Stone Frigates" of the Royal Navy in North America

Aboukir- Receiving ship, Jamaica, 1861-1877 Algerine- Depot ship, Esquimalt, BC, 1895-1919 Ambrose - Submarine base, Halifax, NS, 1957-1967 Annapolis- RCN training ship, Halifax, NS, 1918-1945

32 Antelope - Convict Hospital Ship, Bermuda, 1802-1845 Asbury - Accommodation ship and Signal School, Asbury Park, New Jersey, 1942-1945 [Became Saker II in 1944] Avalon - RCN base, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 1941-1946 Avalon II - Accomodation ship, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 1941-1943 Avalon III - Royal Navy base, Argentia, Newfoundland, 1942- 1946 Avalon IV - Royal Navy Air Station, Argentia, Newfoundland, 1942-1944 Briton - Royal Naval Reserve drill ship, Newfoundland, 1883- 1922 Brunswicker- RCN base and reserve division, St. John, NB, 1939-1964 Burrard - RCN base, Vancouver, BC, 1939-1945 Buxton -Training ship, Halifax/Digby, NS, 1940-1946 Buzzard - Royal Naval Air Station, Palisadoes. Kingston, Jamaica, 1940-1945 Bytown - RCN headquarters, Ottawa, 1941-1968. Cabot - RCN Reserve Naval Division, St. Johns, Newfoundland, 1947-1963 Cagway - Coast Guard base, Port Royal, Jamaica, 1989 Calypso - Reserve drill ship, St. Johns, Newfoundland, 1883- 1902 [Renamed Briton in 1916] Canada Royal Navy base, Halifax, NS, 1942-1944 [Renamed Seaborn in 1944] Cape Breton - RCN escort maintenance ship, Halifax, NS, and Esquimalt, BC, 1944-1984 Cape Scott - RCN maintenance ship, Halifax, NS, 1944-1977 Captor - Depot ship, St. Johns, Newfoundland 1939-1945 Captor II - Base, St. Johns, Newfoundland, 1943-1945 Caribou - RCN division, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, 1952- 1961 Carlton - RCN base, Dows Lake, Ottawa, 1939-1963 Cartier - RCN division, Montreal, 1939-1954 Cataraqui - RCN base, Kingston, Ontario, 1939-1963 Cerberus II - Royal Australian Navy depot, Washington, DC, 1952-1965 Chaleur (Also Chaleur I and II) - RCN depot ship, Quebec, 1939-1945

33