Cecil Wakeford May, RN
| Born | 9 Jun 1899 | ||
| Died | 27 Feb 1942 | (42) | HMS Electra |
| Ranks
Decorations |
Warship Commands listed for Cecil Wakeford May, RN
| Ship | Rank | Type | From | To |
| HMS Electra (H 27) | Cdr. | Destroyer | 28 Jan 1941 | 27 Feb 1942 (+) |
Career information
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Events related to this officer
Destroyer HMS Electra (H 27)
24 May 1941
HMS Electra (Cdr. C.W. May, RN) rescued the 3 survivors from the British battlecruiser HMS Hood, which was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck, off Iceland.
21 Aug 1941
Operation (Convoy) Dervish
Departed Hvalfjord for Northern Russia on 21 August 1941. It had been intended to proceed to Murmansk but due to German air attacks on this city the convoy was diverted to Archangelsk where it arrived on 31 August 1941.
On departure from Hvalfjord the convoy was made up of the following merchant vessels; Alchiba (Dutch, 4427 GRT, built 1920), Esneh (British, 1931 GRT, built 1919), Lancastrian Prince (British, 1914 GRT, built 1940), Llanstephan Castle (British, 11348 GRT, built 1914), New Westminster City (British, 4747 GRT, built 1929) and Trehata (British, 4817 GRT, built 1928).
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker Aldersdale (8402 GRT, built 1937) was also part of the convoy.
On departure from Hvalfjord the convoy was escorted by the destroyers HMS Electra (Cdr. C.W. May, RN), HMS Impulsive (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Thomas, DSC, RN), HMS Active (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Tomkinson, RN), minesweepers HMS Harrier (Cdr. E.P. Hinton, MVO, DSO, RN), HMS Halcyon (T/A/Lt.Cdr. H. Harding, RNR), HMS Salamander (Lt.Cdr. W.A. Cooke, RN) and the M/S trawlers HMS Hamlet (T/Lt. H.H. Bolton, RNVR), HMS Macbeth (T/Lt. R.M. Thorne, RNR) and HMS Ophelia (T/Lt. S. Bennett, RNVR).
On 29 August the three destroyers and the RFA tanker were detached from the convoy to proceed to Spitsbergen.
The convoy arrived safely at Archangelsk on 31 August 1941 not having been detected by the Germans.
Distant cover for this convoy was provided by ' Force M '. This force departed Scapa Flow around 1530A/23 and was made up of the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious (Capt. H.C. Bovell, CBE, RN), heavy cruisers HMS Devonshire (Capt. R.D. Oliver, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral W.F. Wake-Walker CB, OBE, RN), HMS Suffolk (Capt. R.M. Ellis, RN) and the destroyers HMS Inglefield (Capt. P. Todd, DSO, RN), HMS Escapade (Lt.Cdr. E.N.V. Currey, DSC, RN) and HMS Eclipse (Lt.Cdr. I.T. Clark, RN).
Between 1230A/26 and 1430A/26, HMS Inglefield fuelled from HMS Suffolk. Between 1500A/26 and 1605A/26, HMS Escapade fuelled from HMS Devonshire.
' Force M ' arrived at Spitsbergen to refuel from the Aldersdale around 0045A/1. ' Force M ' departed again 0200A/2 to provide cover for other operations.
10 Dec 1941
Participated in the Force Z sortie from Singapore. Rescued 571 survivors from HMS Repulse, which was sunk by Japanese aircraft.
27 Feb 1942
Sunk at Battle of the Java Sea. 54 survivors were picked up the next day by the US submarine S-38.
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