I remember being dropped off at Jetty One with pretty much everything I owned and carrying those kit bags across the quarterdecks of other frigates in the Ninth Canadian Escort Squadron tied up there. My ship was the third one out. The La Hulloise looked well past her prime. In fact they all were.
She was originally built as a
River Class Frigate and was commissioned in May 1944. During the Second World
War, she saw service pounding back and forth across the Atlantic, protecting
convoys. Then, late in the war she was sent to work out of Londonderry,
Northern Ireland.
I recently found an account
of the ship’s activities that helped put the ship’s war record into
perspective. On July 7, 1945, the La
Hulloise along with two other Canadian warships were working in St. Georges
Channel between Ireland and Wales, one of the main convoy routes bringing
needed supplies to Britain during the war. They were close to the Welsh
coastline.
At 3:00 AM the radar
operator Thomas Simpson saw two small blips on his screen. He reported it to
the officer of the watch who dismissed the second blip as a “gremlin” and
ignored it saying what he had seen on his screen was a navigation buoy. Simpson
was sure he was on to something and so annoyed, he challenged the officer of
the watch’s judgment and the row got so loud that it woke the skipper. The
captain decided they should take a closer look.
 |
| HMCS La Hulloise (wartime) |
When they got within a
kilometer of the buoy they turned on the ship’s searchlight and saw a
submarine’s snorkel. The boat dove, the three Canadian warships swooped in and
pounded the area with depth charges. After two or three runs the flotsam from a
German submarine started to float to the
surface.
Five days before on March 2nd
that submarine, U-1302 had torpedoed and damaged a Danish freighter MV Novasli
in Bristol Channel and sunk British ship MV King Edgar near to where the La
Hulloise discovered her.
Simpson was awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal for his actions.
The La Hulloise and other
ships of the same class were decommissioned after the war then finally
reconfigured in the 1950’s, had their armament upgraded, renamed Prestonian
Class frigates, were recommissioned and put back into service.
 |
| Alongside in Halifax |
 |
| HMCS La Hulloise |
 |
| HMCS La Hulloise leaving Harbour in Halifax |
 |
| HMCS La Hulloise The black ring on the funnel indicates that at that point she was the lead ship in the Squadron |
 |
| HMCS La Hulloise |
2 comments:
HMCS La Hulloise was my first ship which I joined in October 1963 after graduating from Comm School OSSG1. The Yeoman was Dinty Moore. Christmas 1963 I was Captain for the Day as I was the youngest member of the RCN - east coast. A tradition I am told still exists today.. I also proudly served on the Swansea and Cresent. Great memories..
My father servved on HMCS La Hulloise (K668) and participated in the sinking of U1302 in 1945. On the crew picture taken in April 1945 in Ireland, he is the sailor 7th from the right in the top row.
Post a Comment