• Home
• The U-boats
• The Men
• The Allies
• Maps
• Forums
• Articles
• Gallery
• Books
• Movies
• WWI

Allies in WWII

• Ships hit by U-boats
• Allied Warships
• Allied Commanders
  • Listing of officers
  • Decorations
  • Personal info
• Ships & Navies
• Aircraft & Air Forces
• Weapons & Techn.

Career information

We currently have no career / biographical information on this officer.

Heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (56)

12 Feb 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) is undocked. (1)

25 Feb 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) conducted exercises in False Bay. (1)

26 Feb 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) conducted exercises in False Bay. (1)

28 Feb 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Simonstown for patrol. She was to proceed to St. Helena on completion of this patrol. (1)

7 Mar 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at St. Helena. She took on board fuel from oiler Laurelwood (British, 7347 GRT, built 1929). (2)

8 Mar 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed St. Helena for patrol and escort duties.

She joined convoy WS 6 on 11 March.

[See the event 'Convoy WS 6' for 8 March 1941 for more information on this convoy.] (2)

8 Mar 1941

Convoy WS 6.

This convoy departed Freetown on 8 March 1941 for South / Africa (Capetown / Durban).

It was a combined convoy made up with ships from convoy's WS 6A and WS 6B which had come to Freetown from the U.K.

The convoy was made up with the following troopships / transports; Almanzora (British, 15551 GRT, built 1914), Ascanius (British, 10048 GRT, built 1910), Bellerophon (British, 9019 GRT, built 1906), Bergensfjord (Norwegian, 11015 GRT, built 1913), Burdwan (British, 6069 GRT, built 1928), Cape Horn (British, 5643 GRT, built 1929), City of Athens (British, 6558 GRT, built 1923), City of Corinth (British, 5318 GRT, built 1918), City of Hankow (British, 7360 GRT, built 1915), City of London (British, 8956 GRT, built 1907), City of Pittsburg (British, 7377 GRT, built 1922), Consuelo (British, 4847 GRT, built 1937), Dalesman (British, 6343 GRT, built 1940), Kina II (British, 9823 GRT, built 1939), Leopoldville (Belgian, 11509 GRT, built 1929), Llandaff Castle (British, 10799 GRT, built 1926), Llanstephan Castle (British, 11348 GRT, built 1914), Logician (British, 5993 GRT, built 1928), Mahseer (British, 7911 GRT, built 1925), Manchester Citizen (British, 5343 GRT, built 1925), Mataroa (British, 12390 GRT, built 1922), Northumberland (British, 11558 GRT, built 1915), Nova Scotia (British, 6796 GRT, built 1926), Opawa (British, 10354 GRT, built 1931), Port Alma (British, 8400 GRT, built 1928), Rangitata (British, 16737 GRT, built 1929), Ruahine (British, 10832 GRT, built 1909), Salween (British, 7063 GRT, built 1937), Scythia (British, 19761 GRT, built 1920) and Thysville (Belgian, 8351 GRT, built 1922).

The convoy was escorted by the light cruisers HMS Birmingham (Capt. A.C.G. Madden, RN), HMS Phoebe (Capt. G. Grantham, RN) and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Cathay (A/Capt.(Retd.) C.M. Merewether, RN).

Heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) joined the convoy at 1126Z/11 in position 00°50'N, 06°48'W. HMS Cathay was then detached with orders to proceed direct to Capetown at her best speed.

At 0600Z/20 the Almanzora, Bergenfjord, Llanstephan Castle, Ruahine and Scythia parted company for Capetown. These ships were to take on board water at Capetown. They were escorted by HMS Birmingham.

At 1600Z/21 the Capetown section of the convoy was detached. It was made up of Ascanius, Burdwan, Cape Horn, City of Athens, Consuelo, Kina II, Leopoldville, Llandaff Castle, Nova Scotia and Opewa. They were being escorted by HMS Phoebe. These ships were to arrive at Capetown at 0700Z/22. HMS Phoebe then proceeded to Simonstown where she arrived around 1000B/22. She departed again around 1620B/22 to join the Almanzora, Bergenfjord, Llanstephan Castle, Ruahine and Scythia coming from Capetown.

At 2055Z/22 the Port Alma was detached to proceed independently to Capetown.

At 1300Z/25, HMS Phoebe with Almanzora, Bergenfjord, Llanstephan Castle, Ruahine and Scythia rejoined the convoy. Consuelo, from the Capetown section, was also present.

At dusk on the 25th, HMS Phoebe, was sent ahead to Durban with six of the faster ships to arrive two to three hours ahead of the remainder on the 26th.

The whole convoy had arrived at Durban well before noon on the 26th.

----------------------------------------------------

On 27 March 1941 the following troopships / transports sailed from Capetown; Ascanius, Burdwan, Cape Horn, City of Athens, Kina II, LLandaff Castle, Nova Scotia, Opawa and Port Alma. These was one new addition to the convoy; Leopoldville (Belgian, 11509 GRT, built 1926). They were being escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire (Capt. B.C.S. Martin, RN).

On 1 April 1941 the following troopships / transports sailed from Durban; Bellerophon, Bergensfjord, City of Corinth, City of Hankow, City of London, City of Pittsburg, Consuelo, Dalesman, Llanstephan Castle, Logician, Masheer, Manchester Citizen, Salween and Thysville. There were also five new additions to the convoy, these were; City of Canterbury (British, 8331 GRT, built 1922), Costa Rica (Dutch, 8055 GRT, built 1910), Dilwara (British, 11080 GRT, built 1936), Elizabethville (Belgian, 8351 GRT, built 1922) and Yoma (British, 8131 GRT, built 1928). The Durban section was escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall and light cruiser HMS Phoebe.

The Capetown section and Durban section made rendez-vous late in the morning of April 2nd.

HMS Phoebe parted company with the convoy in the evening of April 3rd. She arrived at Aden on 10 April.

HMS Dorsetshire parted company with the convoy in the evening of April 7th. She arrived at Durban on 10 April.

Around noon on the 10th the convoy was joined by the transport Talamba (British, 8018 GRT, built 1924) which came from the Seychelles and was escorted by HMS Glasgow (Capt. H. Hickling, RN). They had departed the Seychelles on 8 April. HMS Glasgow parted company with the convoy on 13 April when near Socotra and arrived back in the Seychelles on 16 April.

The convoy was disbanded in the morning of April 17th near Perim. Most of the ships in the convoy proceeded to Suez independently at their best speed. HMS Cornwall arrived at Aden very late in the afternoon of 17 April. (3)

11 Mar 1941
Around noon, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), made rendez-vous with convoy WS 6 which she was to escort.

[See the event 'Convoy WS 6' for 8 March 1941 for more info on this convoy.] (2)

17 Apr 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
Very late in the afternoon, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), arrived at Aden from convoy escort duty. (4)

21 Apr 1941
Around 1600C/21, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (Capt. A.R.M. Bridge, CBE, RN) and the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden for Kilindini / Mombasa. (5)

26 Apr 1941
Around 1000C/26, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (Capt. A.R.M. Bridge, CBE, RN) and the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Kilindini / Mombasa from Aden. (6)

29 Apr 1941
The aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (Capt. A.R.M. Bridge, CBE, RN) and the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) and HMS Hawkins (Capt. H.P.K. Oram, RN) departed Kilindini / Mombasaon this day, to search for a German raider after a report had been received that a ship was being attacked in position 05°24'N, 62°46'E. This was the merchant vessel Clan Buchanan (British, 7266 GRT, built 1938) which had been intercepted and subsequently scuttled by the German armed merchant cruiser Schiff 33 / Pinguin.

HMS Eagle and HMS Hawkins remained in company while HMS Cornwall went ahead. Eagle and Hawkins were however ordered to return to Mombasa on 2 May 1941 and they returned there on the 4th.

HMS Cornwall remained on patrol in the Seychelles area. (6)

8 May 1941 (position 3.30, 57.48)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) intercepts and sinks the German armed merchant cruiser Schiff 33 / Pinguin (7767 GRT, built 1937) north of the Seychelles in position 03°30'N, 57°48'E.

----------------------------------------------------

On 7 May 1941 at 0555 hours (zone -5), HMS Cornwall was near the equator in position 00°02'S, 56°55'E, steering 160°, with orders to refuel at the Seychelles, when a raider report reached her from the British tanker British Emperor. Cornwall then altered course to 340° and increased speed to 20 knots to close the enemy's position without an unduly heavy consumption of fuel. As the position of the British Emperor was over 500 nautical miles away (08°30'N, 56°25'E) Capt. Manwaring anticipated a prolonged search.

At 0756/7 speed was increased to 24 knots and later, at 0815/7, to 25.5 knots. This was after a signal of the C-in-C. East Indies had been received ordering Cornwall to cover the gap between the Seychelles and the Chagos Archipelago. A search plan also involving the aircraft was drawn up.

Between 1600 and 1615/7 , Cornwall launched both her aircraft. They were recovered shortly after 1900 hours. Cornwall then proceeded to search for the enemy during the night. The direction of her search was correct although the enemy was not spotted it turned out that at 0330/8 Cornwall was close to the enemy which sighted her against the setting moon. It would however take several more hours for Cornwall to see the enemy herself.

At dawn, between 0600 and 0630/8, HMS Cornwall launched both her aircraft. At 0707/8 one of the aircrraft sighted a merchant vessel of the suspected type steaming at 13 knots, bearing 228°, some 65 nautical miles to the westward of the Cornwall. The aircraft however made no report until returning to Cornwall at 0800/8. At 0825/8 Cornwall altered course to 255° to close the suspect at 18 knots, later increased to 20 knots and finally to 23 knots. By 0930/8 she had recovered both her aircraft.

At 1015/8, Cornwall catapulted one of her aircraft again with instructions to close the still unidentified ship and to discover, if possible, whether she was a raider or not. When the aircraft returned at 1223/8 it reported that the unidentified merchant vessel was doing at least 15 knots and had hoisted signal letters. These were identified as those of the Norwegian merchant vessel Tamerlane, which she closely resembled. The Tamerlane was however not in the list of 'expected ships'.

It was then past noon and it was clear that HMS Cornwall must increase speed to get within striking distance of the suspect with plenty of daylight in hand. She accordingly increased to 26 knots and later to 28 knots.

At 1345/8 an aircraft was catapulted with orders to keep her informed of the bearing, course and speed of the unidentified vessel. She estimated the suspect to be within 32 nautical miles unless it had altered course. When the aircrft returned it reported the bearing of the unknown ship which was in sight from the air and a few minutes later, at 1607/8 the ship was sighted from the bridge of HMS Cornwall, bearing 282°.

At 1614/8, HMS Cornwall altered course to close. The stranger turned away, stern on, steering 300°. At 1619/8, therefore, Cornwall altered course to bring her fine on the starboard bow in order to close as quickly as possible to 12000 yards without crossing the merchant vessels track.

At 1630/8 the stranger was heard making 'raider reports' stating that she was the Norwegian Tamerlane. The aircraft was therefore ordered to inform her that the ship chasing her was a British cruiser and that she should stop engines. HMS Cornwall at the same time turned to give her a full broadside view and then turned again to resume the chase.

At 1649/8, when the range was down to 19000 yards, HMS Cornwall signalled three times 'Heave to or i fire' and backed this up by one warning shot of 8" over a and to the left. The stranger disobeyed the order, but HMS Cornwall refrained from opening direct fire, still thinking that the ships master was gallantly determined not to stop. An order was therefore given for the second aircraft to take off and drop a 250lb bomb close to the suspect, and if that did not stop her, to drop the second bomb on her forecastle. It took some time however before this order reached the aircraft which was waiting on the catapult.

At 1710/8 HMS Cornwall again signalled 'Heave to or i fire' and followed this with another warning shot of 8". As the range was row within 12000 yards Cornwall turned to port to open it. This however convinced the stranger that the Cornwall was about to open fire in earnest for when the 8" shell fell near her she turned to starboard followed by a large alteration to port and then opened fire with five guns just before 1715/8.

The enemy could hardly have chosen a better moment for starting the action. Just as HMS Cornwall turned after firing her second warning shot, her training circuit failed. Realising that she was dangerously close to the raider she immediately turned away to port to the limit of 'A' arcs to avoid danger from torpedoes and to open the range which had closed to 10500 yards. The range opened quickly but for a while HMS Cornwall was in great danger. She was frequently straddled by rapid and fairly accurate gunfire while her own armamant was pointing everywhere but at the enemy. In these cicumstances she turned further away, and an officer was sent from the bridge to 'B' turret with an order for it to train on the enemy, and if necessary, also take control of 'A' turret. The nescessary orders had by now already been passed from the fore control, and as the turrets trained, the Cornwall turned back to starboard to open 'A' arcs.

As soon as they would bear 'A' and 'B' turrets fired two salvoes. However a 5.9" hit then put Cornwall's fore steering gear out of action and she swung away, closing her 'A' arcs once again for a short time. The breakdown was furtunately only temporary. The after steering gear was rapidly brought into use and the ship was out of control only for a few seconds. Meanwhile communication between the bridge and the waiting aircraft had also failed with the result that the aircraft was still on the catapult but now out of action with splinter damage.

By 1718/8 all of Cornwall's 8" gun turrets were firing an her salvoes were straddling the enemy. The range was again outside the 12000 yards and she was reasonably safe from torpedo attack. The enemy's fire was falling off in accuracy and volume. At 1719/8 it was nearly 1000 yards short so Cornwall turned to bring both ships on rougly parralel courses. By this time Cornwall had recieved two direct hits but although the raider straddled Cornwall once more around 1722 hours she was not hit again. The action was virtually at an end.

At 1726/8 a salvo hit the enemy and she blew up in a cloud of white vapour which rose about 2000 feet into the air. It hung over the scene many minutes. As the raider sank she fired an ineffective salvo which straddled HMS Cornwall about 20 seconds after the raider was lost out of sight.

Although HMS Cornwall had sunk the enemy her own troubles were not yet at an end. With one of her two aircraft out of action she was naturally anxious to recover the other before dark. It was therefore decided to hoist the aircraft in first and then start to search for survivors as there was a lot of debris and the area and that would be dangerous for the aircraft. As Cornwall was recovering the aircraft all electric power failed. This also resulted in the fans of the engine room being stopped and as the tempurature rose to almost 200 Fahrenheit (over 90 Celcius) the engine room had to be evacuated.

About this time the starboard engines suddenly went half speed astern, possibly in accordance with an order given some time before. This brought Cornwall into themiddle of the wreckage and before darkness fell she was able to pick up a number of British and Germans survivors clinging to it in the water. Cornwall remained without electric power from 1815 to 1850 hours. At 1850 hours power was restored but she remained more or less stopped in the wreckage until 2140 hours. She then made off towards the Seychelles.

Although HMS Cornwall had found and sunk the enemy, the Admiralty considered that the conduct of the operation left much to be desired. They regarded the search scheme as well designed but when at 0707/8 the aircraft sighted a merchant ship of the type she was searching for it should have reported this fact at once and not upon returning to Cornwall around 0800/8 which in the meantime was steaming away from the enemy. The result was also that the other aircraft was kept unnecessarily in the air.

It was considered too that HMS Cornwall should have kept the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, informed of the events and her intentions. With the information at his disposal he could then have informed her that no friendly merchant ship was anywhere near. She appears, however, to have been undly concerned with the possibility of her wireless being intercepted by the raiders direction finder.

The Cornwall was engaged on a definite raider hunt and employing, quite correctly, both her aircraft for the search. When the suspicious ship was sighted by one of them it could have shadowed her while to other was recalled and refuelled in readiness to relieve the shadower, thus ensuring that the suspect would be almost contantly under observation. As it was the advantage of having two aircraft was lost and the enemy was left unwatched from 0725 to 1125 hours and again from 1150 to 1410 hours. If the enemy had made a big alteration of course, or if the visibility had decreased the chance of finding him again would have been slender.

The Admiralty considered that during this phase the rigid adherence to wireless silence resulted in essential reports not being made from the aircraft to Cornwall and from Cornwall to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.

The Admiralty also considered that HMS Cornwall should have brought all her boilers to immediate notice at 0800/8 when the first aircrft report was received and not to have waited until 1250/8 when the second aircraft report was received.

Throughout the period between the surface sighting of the raider and the time when she opened fire on HMS Cornwall, Capt. Manwairing held on to the idea that the suspect might still prove to be a friendly ship although in view of her suspicious behaviour all the evidence was very much against it. The Admiralty considered that the Cornwall, by allowing herself to close to a range of under 12000 yards contrary to her expressed intentions, showed a lack of attention to the changing situation. It was quite clear from her report that this was fully appreciated at the time. The error of closing a very suspecious ship was intensified by her temporaty inability to open fire, which left no alternative but to turn away and close 'A' arcs at a critical moment, which might have easily resulted in the raider's escape and in much more serious damage to herself than she actually suffered. (7)

10 May 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Port Victoria, Seychelles. (8)

11 May 1941
Around 1900D/11, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) and HMS Glasgow (Capt. H. Hickling, RN) departed Port Victoria, Seychelles for Mauritius. (6)

17 May 1941
Around 0645D/17, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) and HMS Glasgow (Capt. H. Hickling, RN) arrived at Mauritius from the Seychelles.

They departed again around 0215D/18 as D/F bearings indicated a German ship within 200 nautical miles from position 06°50'S, 73°40'E.

They parted company around noon on the 18th.

On 19 May, HMS Cornwall searched the area between 10°S and 12°S and 67°E and 71°E while HMS Glasgow steered towards Peros Banhos to carry out an air search of islands to the west side of the Chagos Archipelago.

Both cruisers sighted nothing and no further indications of a German surface unit were picked up. (6)

22 May 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Mauritius in the morning. She departed for Durban in the afternoon. (8)

25 May 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Durban. Here she was to make repairs during the damage sustained during the action of 18 May. (8)

10 Jun 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Durban. She was escorting convoy CM 12 which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926), Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938). (9)

18 Jun 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Aden in the afternoon. She was had parted company with the convoy which she was escorting (Convoy CM 12, which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926), Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938) near Perim in the early hours of the day. (9)

20 Jun 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden for a patrol off the Seychelles. (9)

24 Jun 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Port Victoria, Seychelles. (9)

26 Jun 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Port Victoria, Seychelles for patrol which was to end at Durban. (9)

29 Jun 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) is ordered to make rendez-vous with the troopship Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938) which had departed Suez on this day for Durban and which had the King of Greece, the Greek Royal party and other important personages on board.

Rendez-vous was made in the afternoon of July 3rd south-east of Kismayo. (6)

7 Jul 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Durban escorting the troopship Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938). (10)

11 Jul 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Durban. She was escorting convoy WS 9A2 which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926), Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938). (10)

18 Jul 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
In the evening, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), parted company near Perim with convoy WS 9A2 which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926), Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938). (10)

19 Jul 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Aden. (10)

20 Jul 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden for Mombasa. She was escorting the British transport Salween (British, 7063 GRT, built 1937). (10)

27 Jul 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) and the British transport Salween (British, 7063 GRT, built 1937) arrived at Mombasa. (10)

1 Aug 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Mombasa for a patrol which was to end at Durban. The patrol took her along the east side of Madagascar. (11)

9 Aug 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Durban from patrol. (11)

11 Aug 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Durban. She was escorting convoy CM 15 which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926), Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938). (11)

19 Aug 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
Around 2000 hours, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), arrived at Aden after escorting convoy CM 15 which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926), Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch, 36287 GRT, built 1938). She had parted company with the convoy around 1400 hours that day. (11)

21 Aug 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden for patrol upon completion of which she was to proceed to Colombo.

On departure from Aden, HMS Cornwall was towing the sloop HMIS Clive (Lt.Cdr.(emgy.) R.R. Caws, RIN) to about 50'E in order for the sloop to be able to make it to Karachi. (11)

23 Aug 1941
In the morning, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) and HMIS Clive (Lt.Cdr.(emgy.) R.R. Caws, RIN), parted company.

HMIS Clive then proceeded to Karachi where she arrived on 28 August 1941.

HMS Cornwall then made rendez-vous in the afternoon with the transport Tilawa (British, 10006 GRT, built 1924) to escort this ship to the vicinity of Bombay. (11)

30 Aug 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Colombo where she was to dock and have her 8" gun barrels exchanged. (11)

1 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) is docked at Colombo. (12)

3 Sep 1941

Convoy US 12A.

This convoy departed Sydney on 3 September 1941 for Suez where it arrived on 23 September 1941.

The convoy was made up of the following troopships; Queen Elizabeth (British, 83673 GRT, built 1939) and Queen Mary (British, 81235 GRT, built 1936).

HMS Queen Mary departed Sydney on 3 September escorted by the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (Capt. J. Burnett, RAN).

They were joined off Jervis Bay around 2200K/3 by the Queen Elizabeth which had arrived there from Sydney on 2 September 1941 and had stayed overnight in the bay protected by the light cruiser HMAS Adelaide (Capt. H.A. Showers, RAN). On the Queen Elizabeth joining HMAS Adelaide parted company and returned to Sydney.

Around 0700K/6, the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, RAN) took over the escort duties from HMAS Sydney which then proceeded to Williamstown.

The convoy arrived at Fremantle on 8 September.

The convoy departed Fremantle for Colombo on 9 September still escorted by HMAS Canberra.

The convoy arrived at Trincomalee on 15 September 1941 and departed from there on 16 September 1941.

From Trincomalee to Perim the convoy was escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN).

The convoy arrived off Perim on 21 September 1941 and from there on the ships proceeded independently to Suez while HMS Cornwall proceeded to Aden where she arrived later that day. (6)

5 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) is undocked. (12)

9 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Colombo for Trincomalee. (12)

10 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
In the morning, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), arrived at Trincomalee.

In the afternoon she conducted gunnery exercises off Trincomalee. (12)

11 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) conducted exercises off Trincomalee. (12)

12 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
In the morning, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), conducted gunnery exercises off Trincomalee. (12)

16 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Trincomalee for escort duty.

[See the event ' Convoy US 12A ' for 9 September 1941 for more information.] (13)

21 Sep 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Aden from escort duty.

[See the event ' Convoy US 12A ' for 9 September 1941 for more information.] (13)

24 Sep 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Colombo for Addu Atoll (Port T). She is escorting HMS Glenroy (Capt.(Retd.) Sir J.F. Paget, RN) and the transport Clan Forbes (British, 7529 GRT, built 1938). (13)

30 Sep 1941
HMS Glenroy (Capt.(Retd.) Sir J.F. Paget, RN), transport Clan Forbes (British, 7529 GRT, built 1938) and their escort , heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), arrived at Addu Atoll (Port T). (13)

9 Oct 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Addu Atoll (Port T) for patrol. (14)

20 Oct 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Port Victoria, Seychelles from patrol. (14)

21 Oct 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Port Victoria, Seychelles for a patrol which was to end at Colombo. (14)

26 Oct 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Colombo from patrol. (14)

3 Nov 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Colombo for Addu Atoll (Port T). (15)

3 Nov 1941

Convoy US 13.

This convoy departed Sydney on 3 November 1941 for Suez.

The convoy was made up of the troopship Queen Elizabeth (British, 83673 GRT, built 1939).

Off Jervis Bay the Queen Elizabeth was joined by the Queen Mary (British, 81235 GRT, built 1936) and the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, RAN).

The convoy arrived at Fremantle on 7 November 1941.

The convoy departed Fremantle for Trincomalee on 8 November 1941 still escorted by HMAS Canberra.

The convoy was escorted until late morning of November 11th by HMAS Canberra (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, RAN) when the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) took over in approximate position 11°30'S, 99°30'E.

The convoy arrived at Trincomalee on 14 November 1941 and departed from there to continue it's passage the following day.

The convoy arrived off Perim on 20 November 1941 and from there on the troopships proceeded independently to Suez while HMS Cornwall proceeded to Aden where she arrived later that day. (16)

5 Nov 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Addu Atoll (Port T). (15)

6 Nov 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Addu Atoll (Port T) to rendez-vous with convoy US 13 and then escort it to Trincomalee. (15)

11 Nov 1941
In late morning HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) made rendez-vous with convoy US 13 in approximate position 11°30'S, 99°30'E. She then took over the escort duties from HMAS Canberra (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, RAN).

[For more info on this convoy see the event ' Convoy US 13 ' for 8 September 1941.] (15)

14 Nov 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Trincomalee with convoy US 13. [See the event ' Convoy US 13 ' for 8 November 1941 for more information.] (15)

15 Nov 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Trincomalee with convoy US 13. [See the event ' Convoy US 13 ' for 8 November 1941 for more information.] (15)

20 Nov 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Aden from escort duty. [See the event ' Convoy US 13 ' for 8 November 1941 for more information.] (16)

23 Nov 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden for patrol towards the Seychelles. En-route she was to provide cover for important indepenently routed merchant ships. (16)

25 Nov 1941 (position 7.17, 52.06)
Around 1000 hours, HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), intercepted the Vichy-French merchant Surcouf (1129 GRT, built 1899) of the east coast of Somalia in position 07°17'N, 52°06'E. Shortly after noon a prize crew was put on board which brought her to Aden. The Surcouf was en route from Madagascar to Djibouti with food.

From Aden the Indian sloop HMIS Hindustan (A/Cdr. I.B.W Heanly, RIN) was sent out to join HMS Cornwall and the Surcouf to provide A/S protection as it was feared that a Vichy French submarine which had recently been at Djibouti would intervene.

HMIS Hindustan joined the Surcouf in the afternoon of 27 November 1941. (16)

28 Nov 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Aden from patrol. (16)

1 Dec 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden for Durban. (17)

11 Dec 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Durban. (17)

16 Dec 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Durban. She was escorting convoy CM 24 which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926) and Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939). (17)

23 Dec 1941
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) with convoy CM 24, which was made up of the large troopships Ile de France (British, 43450 GRT, built 1926) and Mauretania (British, 35739 GRT, built 1939), arrived off Aden. Ile de France continued independently to Suez while HMS Cornwall and the Mauretania entered Aden. (17)

26 Dec 1941 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Aden to escort the troopship Dilwara (British, 11080 GRT, built 1936) to the vicinity of Mombasa. (17)

30 Dec 1941
Around 0900C/30, the heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), parted company with the troopship Dilwara (British, 11080 GRT, built 1936). The troopship then continued on to Mombasa where she arrived on 1 January 1942. To take over the escort of the troopship the HMS Corfu (Capt.(Retd.) J.P. Landon, RN) had joined around 0600C/30.

HMS Cornwall then proceeded to make rendez-vous with convoy WS 12Z the following day. [See the event ' Convoy WS 12Z ' for 24 December 1941 for more information.] (18)

6 Jan 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Bombay with convoy WS 12ZB. (19)

17 Jan 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Bombay for Aden. (19)

21 Jan 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Aden. (19)

23 Jan 1942

Convoy AJ 1.

This convoy departed Aden on 23 January 1942 and arrived at Colombo on 1 February 1942.

This convoy was made up of the following troopships / transports; City of Paris (British, 10902 GRT, built 1922), Eastern Prince (British, 10926 GRT, built 1929) and Yoma (British, 8131 GRT, built 1928).

The convoy was escorted by the British heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN).

In the evening of January 27th the Eastern Prince was detached to Bombay where she arrived on 30 January 1942.

The remainder of the convoy arrived at Colombo on 1 February 1942. (20)

13 Feb 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Colombo from escort duty. (21)

14 Feb 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)

Convoy JS 2X.

This convoy departed Colombo on 14 February 1942 and arrived at Rangoon on 23 February 1942.

This convoy was made up of the troopships / transports; African Prince (British, 4653 GRT, built 1939), Ascanius (British, 10048 GRT, built 1910), Birchbank (British, 5151 GRT, built 1924), Mariso (Dutch, 7659 GRT, built 1930), Tingsang (British, 2256 GRT, built 1922) and Troja (Norwegian, 8814 GRT, built 1930).

The convoy was escorted by the British heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN), the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire (Cdr. W.T.A. Moran, RAN), the Indian sloop HMIS Hindustan (A/Cdr. I.B.W Heanly, RIN), the Australian minesweeper HMAS Lismore (Lt.Cdr. S.H. Crawford, RANR(S)) and the Indian auxiliary patrol vessel HMIS Ramdas (Lt. G.M. Hart, RINR).

The merchant vessel Tingsang was detached south-east of Ceylon to proceed to Madras escorted by HMIS Ramsdas.

HMAS Vampire, having been detached, returned to Colombo on 18 February.

HMS Cornwall returned to Colombo on 24 February.

The remainder of the convoy meanwhile had arrived at Rangoon on 23 February 1942. (21)

24 Feb 1942
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Colombo from escort duty. (21)

28 Feb 1942

Convoy SU 1.

This convoy departed Colombo on 28 February 1942 and arrived at Fremantle on 15 March 1942.

This convoy was made up of the troopships / transports; City of London (British, 8956 GRT, built 1907), City of Paris (British, 10902 GRT, built 1922), Eastern Prince (British, 10926 GRT, built 1929), Egra (British, 5108 GRT, built 1911), Empire Glade (British, 7006 GRT, built 1941), Esperance Bay (British, 13837 GRT, built 1922), Gorgon (British, 3533 GRT, built 1933), Industria (British, 4850 GRT, built 1940), Kosciuszko (Polish, 6852 GRT, built 1915), Madras City (British, 5080 GRT, built 1940), Mathura (British, 8890 GRT, built 1920), Norden (Norwegian (tanker), 8440 GRT, built 1931), Penrith Castle (British, 6369 GRT, built 1929), Pundit (British, 5305 GRT, built 1919), Silverteak (British, 6770 GRT, built 1930), Silverwillow (British, 6373 GRT, built 1930) and Trevilley (British, 5296 GRT, built 1940).

The convoy was escorted by the British heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN, the British destroyer HMS Express (Lt.Cdr. F.J. Cartwright, RN) and the British corvette HMS Hollyhock (Lt. T.E. Davies, OBE, RNR). On 1 March the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign (Capt. R.H. Portal, DSC, RN), armed merchant cruisers HMAS Manoora (A/Capt. A.H. Spurgeon, RAN) and the destroyers HMAS Nizam (Lt.Cdr. M.J. Clark, DSC, RAN) and HMAS Vampire (Cdr. W.T.A. Moran, RAN) joined in approximate position 05.00'N, 79.00'E coming from Trincomalee.

HMS Express and HMS Holyhock returned to Colombo on 3 March 1942. They most likely had parted company with the convoy when the ships coming from Trincomalee joined the convoy escort.

At 1800F/4, HMS Royal Sovereign, HMAS Nizam and HMAS Vampire parted company with the convoy to return to Trincomalee.

The convoy arrived at Fremantle on 15 March 1942 except for HMAS Manoora which was detached escorting the merchant vessels Empire Glade, Madras City, Mathura and Silver Widow to Adelaide where they arrived on 22 March 1942. (21)

18 Mar 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) departed Fremantle for Colombo. (22)

27 Mar 1942 (position 0.00, 0.00)
HMS Cornwall (Capt. P.C.W. Manwaring, RN) arrived at Colombo from Fremantle. (21)

You can help improve officers Percival Clive Wickham Manwaring's page
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this officer.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve his page.

• Front page
• About
• Contact us
• FAQ
• Glossary
• What's new

 © 1995 - 2024 Guðmundur Helgason