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The Royal Naval Service on HMS Redpole in World War 2 of Leading Seaman Reg Lloyd by John L

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The Royal Naval Service on HMS Redpole in World War 2 of Leading Seaman Reg Lloyd by John L 1943 – 1945 The Royal Naval Service on HMS Redpole in World War 2 of Leading Seaman Reg Lloyd by John L. Lloyd My father, Reg Lloyd of Denham Avenue, Llanelli and formerly of Seaside was conscripted into the Royal Navy on the 4th June 1941; he served on HMS Queen of Bermuda until 3rd May 1943 and was then transferred to HMS Victory until 21st June 1943. On 22nd June 1943 he was posted to HMS Redpole at Yarrows Shipyard, Scotstoun, Glasgow, as a Radar Operator with Signals Branch. The ship was a Modified Black Swan–class Sloop which was built by Yarrow and launched by Mrs. Mitchell on 25th February 1943 and commissioned on 24th June 1943. Acceptance Trials commenced on 26th June 1943, with my father onboard, and on completion of these trials they sailed to Tobermory for work up to operational trials. Sloops were specialised convoy defence vessels with conventional turbine engines. They were large and fast with heavy armament which had superior anti-aircraft design with excellent anti-submarine capabilities and were designed to have a longer range than a destroyer, with a lower speed, but still capable of outrunning some surface U Boats. The armament on board comprised of: 6 x 4 inch anti-aircraft guns 4 x 2 pounder anti-aircraft pompom 4 x ½ inch anti-aircraft machine guns 12 x 20 Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon 40 Depth charges 1 HMS Redpole was commanded during my father’s service by Lt Cdr Ian Montague Carss DSC, RN May 1943 – June 1944 Lt Cdr Edward John Lee RN June 1944 – Mid 1946 The Battle Honours included deployment on convoy defence in Atlantic 1943 – 1944 Normandy 1944 Burma 1944 – 1945 Her full service history in WW2 can be seen below. On completion of work up with ships of the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in July 1943,Redpole was deployed to Gibraltar for convoy escort and support in the Mediterranean and Atlantic which continued from September to December 1943. From January to April 1944 they were deployed on convoy defence in Home Waters and UK Coastal Waters. In May 1944, they joined Support Force G during the Assault Phase of planned Allied landings in Normandy, Operation Neptune as it was designated, and on 3rd May 1944 they took part in the Final Rehearsal for Neptune landings. Further exercises were undertaken in May 1944 in preparation for Operation Neptune. In early June 1944 HMS Redpole was nominated for escort of Assault convoy G5 to Gold Beach, and on the 5th June 1944 they passed through the mine swept English Channel as part of the convoy. This enabled the Allied forces to advance to the beach. Gold Beach was the centre beach of the five designated landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. It was 5 miles wide and included the coastal towns of La Riviere and Le Hamel. On the Western end of the beach was the port of Arromanches and the town of Longues-sur-Mer. It was taken from the defending German troops by units of the British 50th Infantry Division. 2 On arriving at the Lowering position on the 6th June 1944, D-Day, HMS Redpole detached and returned to Portsmouth to join HMS Stork, a sloop and HMS Eglinton, a destroyer in 116th Escort Group for the defence of the follow up convoys. On the termination of Operation Neptune they were deployed on 27th June 1944 for Channel convoy escort patrol and on 5th July 1944 they sailed to Clyde for a refit at a commercial shipyard. This was undertaken in August 1944 and post refit trials were completed in September 1944. They sailed from the Clyde on 1st October 1944 bound for Port Said, and then onwards through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and joined the Eastern Fleet at Trincomalee on 6th November 1944 before being transferred to the East Indies Fleet. In December of that year they were deployed for convoy defence in support of planned landings in Burma and on 16th January 1945 were engaged as gunfire support to those landings with Bombardment Force by British 4th and Indian 71st Brigade in Northern part of Ramree Island; designated Operation Matador. The Island had been captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in early 1943 along with the rest of Southern Burma. In January 1945 the Allies launched an attack to re-take Ramree and Cheduba islands, to establish airbases on the islands for the supply of the mainland campaign. Thereafter, HMS Redpole was transferred to British Pacific Fleet and sailed to Sydney, Australia, arriving on the17th February 1945 where it was discovered that a refit prior to operational service with British Pacific Fleet was required. This was arranged to take place in Auckland, New Zealand and in March 1945 they sailed for the HM Dockyard at Auckland. The refit was carried out from April to June 1945. During the time the refit was taking place my brother David Michael Lloyd was born at Glanmor Villa, Glanmor Road, Llanelli, where my grandparents Sid and Anne Llewellyn were living, and where my mother and I had moved to from our family home in Denham Avenue in June 1941 when my father was called up. My mother rented out our house in Denham Avenue mainly to Officers from RAF Pembrey Camp during this time until the end of the war, when my father was discharged. This was a particularly worrying time for my mother because my brother David was born with congenital Hydrocephalus which is a condition with an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. CSF is a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Within days of his birth my brother was rushed into Cardiff Royal Infirmary where the prognosis of the condition was said to be terminal, with survival given as 6 weeks. Present day treatment is surgical insertion of a drainage system called a shunt which keeps fluid flowing from the brain, but in 1945 this treatment was not 3 available and David was soon discharged to the home of my grandparents where we were still living. My mother was left with a situation whereby she had a seriously ill baby just weeks old, a son, me, 6 years old and a husband who was in Auckland serving with the Royal Navy, and also WW2 was still on. It was left to the close family who were amazing, and rallied around to support us. On completion of the refit of HMS Redpole in Auckland she sailed to Sydney, Australia for British Pacific Fleet service in July 1945 with my father still aboard. On arrival in Sydney my father was granted compassionate leave to return home due to the seriousness of my brother’s illness and he started his journey to the UK by many plane flights. These flights took weeks to complete as he was boarding RAF planes as and when they were available to him, because there were no civil airlines flying at that time due to the war. His departure from Sydney was probably shortly after 2nd September 1945, the date that WW2 officially ended when Japan formally signed the surrender. Germany having surrendered on 7th May 1945 so ending the European conflict. His fellow passengers were mainly high ranking Officers of the military and they finally flew into RAF Lyneham, Wilts. in October 1945 after a long and arduous journey of many flights to various parts of the world before arriving home. After returning to my grandparents house at Glanmor Villa, within weeks we returned as a family to Denham Avenue, our family home. He was officially released from Royal Naval Service on 28th December 1945 after what was for him a very eventful WW2 of 4½ years duration. Thereafter he returned to civvy street and to work at The Welsh Tin Stamping and in later years at Llanelli Radiators, from where he retired in December 1974. My mother Helen (Nell) suffered ill health in the latter years of her life and my father spent his retirement years nursing and caring for her with the help of my wife Carol until April 1986 when she passed away. My brother David thankfully lived a relatively normal life after his early years of traumatic ill health and this was due entirely to the love and devotion of my parents throughout his life. 4 In 1987 my father suffered what was diagnosed as a touch of malaria, a throwback to his wartime service and he found it difficult to continue living at Denham Avenue, so Carol insisted that he and my brother David come to live with us in our bungalow in Felinfoel Road, where they both enjoyed the comforts of our home and the affectionate indulgence of Carol for the rest of their lives and they also enjoyed a good social life with friends throughout this time. Sadly my father passed away on New Year’s Day 1997 at the age of 86 and my brother David on 12th December 2010, coincidentally my father’s birthday, aged 65. Both died at our home with Carol and I close at hand. Royal Navy Signals Branch on HMS Queen of Bermuda Reg Lloyd is seen standing far right with 6 inch gun in the background. 5 Leading Seaman Reg Lloyd, Royal Navy June 1941 - December 1945 Leading Seaman Reg Lloyd standing second from left, with fellow crew members in South Atlantic. 6 A rare chance for leisure time in Australia, 1944/45. 7 Reg Lloyd, centre during refit of HMS Redpole in Auckland, New Zealand, March 1945.
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