H.M.S. Blean - St Cosmus and St Damian - Blean, Kent
Posted by: SMacB
N 51° 18.314 E 001° 03.185
31U E 364289 N 5685569
Ships badge and polished brass plaque in St Cosmus' and St Damian's church, Blean, dedicated to the crew of H.M.S. Blean, torpedoed off the coast of Algeria, 1942.
Waymark Code: WM1199Q
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/10/2019
Views: 1
Ships badge and polished brass plaque in St Cosmus' and St Damian's church, Blean, dedicated to the crew of H.M.S. Blean, torpedoed off the coast of Algeria, 1942. It consists of a round ships shield badge mounted above a rectangular brass plaque set on a wooden mount.
Inscription -
IN MEMORY OF
HMS BLEAN
LAUNCHED 15th JANUARY 1942
TORPEDOED 11th DECEMBER 1942
60 MILES WEST OF ORAN, ALGERIA
WITH THE LOSS OF 89 MEN.
"HMS Blean was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was named after the Blean Beagles Hunt at the village of Blean just north of Canterbury. She had the shortest career of any of the Hunt-class destroyers.
Built at Hebburn-on-Tyne by Hawthorn Leslie, she was laid down on 22 February 1941, launched on 15 January 1942 and commissioned on 23 August 1942.
After working up at Scapa Flow followed by some repairs on the Thames she escorted a convoy to Gibraltar arriving on 2 November 1942. She then joined the 58th Destroyer Division escorting Operation Torch convoys. While escorting the British convoy MKF-4 off the Algerian coast, Blean was torpedoed by U-443 on 11 December 1942 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Oran. The U-boat aimed one torpedo against her and then one against the convoy, but both hit Blean and she sank within four minutes with the loss of 89 men.
A memorial to her was unveiled in the church of St. Cosmus and St. Damian in the village of Blean on 10 December 2006."
SOURCE - (Visit Link)
Aboard HMS Blean (L 47) when hit on 11 Dec 1942 -
Name |
Age |
Rank |
Atkins, Timothy Walter, RN |
24 |
Able Seaman |
Baines, John, RN |
22 |
Leading Cook (O) |
Bannister, Glyn, RN |
18 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Barker, Maurice, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Barnes, Joseph Charles, RN |
25 |
Leading Stoker |
Beattie, William Edward, RN |
25 |
Assistant Cook |
Bilton, Ernest, RN |
21 |
Able Seaman |
Bishop, Reginald William, RN |
|
Leading Seaman |
Bloomfield, Jack Aston, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Bradbury, William Harold, RNVR |
|
Able Seaman |
Burke, Joseph, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
Cannell, Dennis Cautley, RN |
31 |
Able Seaman |
Cashman, Ronald Joseph, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Castleman, Charles Edward, RN |
|
Ordinary Seaman |
Cater, William Bertie, RN |
26 |
Leading Stoker |
Coan, Victor George, RN |
|
Sick Berth Attendant |
Coleman, Arthur Percival, RFR |
39 |
Petty Officer Telegraphist |
Collett, Leonard Stanley, RN |
20 |
Able Seaman |
Connolly, Thomas, RN |
22 |
Able Seaman |
Dennehy, James Pearse, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
Dunne, Edgar George, RN |
|
Ordinary Seaman |
Edwards, David Henry William, RN |
23 |
Able Seaman |
Evamy, Henry Wilson, RN |
34 |
Ordinary Coder |
Fellows, Frederick, RN |
|
Leading Seaman |
Fielding, Jack, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
Fordham, William Ralph, RN |
27 |
Leading Seaman |
Friend, Leslie Richard, RN |
19 |
Leading Seaman |
Fuller, Stanley, RN |
20 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Gilbert, William Charles, RN |
40 |
Canteen Manager |
Giles, Cyril Harry, RN |
20 |
Ordinary Signalman |
Haighton, Neil, RN |
21 |
Able Seaman |
Hammond, George William, RN |
44 |
Engine Room Artificer 1st Class |
Hards, Jack, RN |
19 |
Stoker 1st Class |
Harris, Cyril Ronald, RN |
32 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Heath, Frederick George, RN |
20 |
Telegraphist |
Hellon, George William, RN |
30 |
Petty Officer Stoker |
Herring, Percival Henry, RFR |
41 |
Stoker 1st Class |
Howden, Peter, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
James, Alfred Trevening, RN |
29 |
Able Seaman |
Jenvey, Walter, RN |
24 |
Petty Officer |
Johnson, Ralph, RN |
25 |
Stoker 1st Class |
Johnstone, Walter Millar, RN |
19 |
Telegraphist |
Jolly, John, RN |
25 |
Telegraphist |
Kay, Archibald, RN |
21 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Kirk, Alfred, RN |
24 |
Able Seaman |
Kirkby, Henry, RN |
35 |
Able Seaman |
Kirkness, Charles Edward, RFR |
36 |
Petty Officer |
Kitchenside, Geoffrey Charles John, RN |
19 |
Signalman |
Lax, William, RN |
31 |
Able Seaman |
Leahy, William John, RN |
28 |
Petty Officer Steward |
MacDonald, Donald Angus, RN |
20 |
Supply Assistant |
Markwell, Kenneth, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Marriott, Joseph Hudson, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
May, Alfred, RN |
26 |
Stoker 1st Class |
May, Edwin Frank, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
McArthur, William, RN |
24 |
Able Seaman |
McCourt, Charles Carlin, RN |
37 |
Petty Officer Cook |
McCreadie, John Walter Miller, RN |
24 |
Able Seaman |
McIntyre, Hugh, RN |
|
Leading Stoker |
Middlemiss, Robert Allison, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
Miller, William John, RN |
|
Stoker 1st Class |
Moore, Arthur, RN |
20 |
Ordinary Coder |
Nogues, Roland Louis Marcel, RN |
20 |
Able Seaman |
Ovens, Joseph, RN |
23 |
Able Seaman |
Palmer, Douglas Charles Ernest, RN |
23 |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
Parker, Norman John, RN |
|
Captain |
Patten, William, RN |
20 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Pearce, Horace, RN |
31 |
Petty Officer Stoker |
Poole, William, RN |
20 |
Able Seaman |
Pope, Herbert Edwin, RN |
42 |
Petty Officer Stoker |
Raven, Sidney Smith, RN |
22 |
Leading Seaman |
Reed, Albert Cyril, RN |
|
Stoker 2nd Class |
Reeve, Frederick Maurice, RN |
22 |
Able Seaman |
Reid, Kenneth, RN |
22 |
Able Seaman |
Ringrose, Alfred, RN |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
Roper, George, RFR |
42 |
Able Seaman |
Sample, Stephen, RN |
19 |
Stoker 2nd Class |
Seaman, George William, RN |
|
Stoker 1st Class |
Seely, Frank, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
Sparshott, Walter James, RN |
37 |
Stoker 2nd Class |
Still, Reginald Percy David, RN |
20 |
Able Seaman |
Stocks, Craven, RN |
20 |
Able Seaman |
Stocks, Thomas Edward, RN |
19 |
Stoker 1st Class |
Sylvester, Philip George Leeson, RN |
42 |
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class |
Tomlin, Harry Raymond, RN |
22 |
Petty Officer Supply |
Turnbull, Joseph, RN |
29 |
Petty Officer |
Walkden, Wilfred, RN |
|
Able Seaman |
Wallace, Robert, RN |
|
Ordinary Seaman |
Walton, John, RN |
32 |
Stoker 1st Class |
Warren, Henry Albert, RFR |
36 |
Stoker 1st Class |
Wilson, Patrick Augustus, RN |
|
Stoker 2nd Class |
SOURCE - (Visit Link)
Further reading -
Naval History.net .
UBoat.net
List if there are any visiting hours: Daytime hours
Date dedicated: 12/10/2006
Sponsor(s): Not known
Relevent website: Not listed
Entrance fees (if any): Not listed
Parking coordinates: Not Listed
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