Navy | The Royal Navy |
Type | Escort destroyer |
Class | Hunt (Type II) |
Pennant | L 100 |
Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Newcastle-on-Tyne, U.K.): Parsons |
Ordered | 4 Sep 1939 |
Laid down | 20 Nov 1939 |
Launched | 19 Aug 1940 |
Commissioned | 28 Feb 1941 |
End service | |
History | Sold to be broken up for scrap on 1 January 1948. |
Commands listed for HMS Liddesdale (L 100)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
Commander | From | To | |
1 | Cdr. Arthur George West, RN | 14 Feb 1941 | 5 May 1942 |
2 | Lt.Cdr. Angus Alexander Mackenzie, RNR | 5 May 1942 | 4 Oct 1943 |
3 | Lt. Cecil Julian Bateman, RN | 4 Oct 1943 | Jun 1945 |
4 | Cdr. John Holmes, RN | Jun 1945 | late 1945 |
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Notable events involving Liddesdale include:
24 Mar 1941
Late in the afternoon HMS Prince of Wales (Capt. J.C. Leach, MVO, RN) departed Rosyth for a trial run and to proceed to Scapa Flow upon completion. She was escorted by the destroyers HMS Liddesdale (Cdr. A.G. West, RN), HMS Avon Vale (Lt.Cdr. P.A.R. Withers, DSO, RN) and HMS Quantock (Lt.Cdr. D.J.A. Heber-Percy, RN).
At 0550/25 the three destoyers of the screen were replaced by HMS Electra (Cdr. C.W. May, RN), HMS Escapade (Lt.Cdr. E.N.V. Currey, DSC, RN) and HMS Active (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Tomkinson, RN).
At 1050/25 this destoyer screen was replaced by the original three destroyers that had escorted Prince of Wales out of Rosyth.
Early in the evening of the 25th Prince of Wales entered Scapa Flow.
For the daily positions of HMS Prince of Wales during these trials see the map below.
(1)
16 Apr 1941
HMS Naiad (Capt. M.H.A. Kelsey, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral E.L.S. King, CB, MVO, RN) departed the Tyne for Scapa Flow.
At the same time the new aircraft carrier HMS Victorious (Capt. H.C. Bovell, RN) departed the Tyne for Rosyth escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Liddesdale (Cdr. A.G. West, RN), HMS Quantock (Lt.Cdr. D.J.A. Heber-Percy, RN) and HMS Southdown (Cdr. G.N. Loriston-Clarke, RN). HMS Naiad proceeded with them until the Firth of Forth when she was detached to continue her passage to Scapa Flow where she arrived later the same day. (2)
24 May 1943
Convoy ET 21.
This convoy departed Bone / Philippeville on 24 May 1943 for Gibraltar where it arrived on 28 May 1943.
No full info on the composition of this convoy is currently known to us.
On departure from Bone / Philippeville the convoy was escorted by the destroyers HMS Javelin (Lt.Cdr. J.M. Alliston, DSC, RN), HMS Kelvin (Lt.Cdr. J.T.B. Birch, DSO, DSC, RN), HMS Velox (Lt. G.B. Barstow, RN), HMS Venomous (Lt. H.D. Durell, RN) and the escort destroyer HMS Liddesdale (Lt.Cdr. A.A. Mackenzie, RNR).
HMS Javelin and HM Kelvin were detached on the 26th to conduct an A/S hunt but rejoined later the same day.
The convoy made a short call at Algiers on 26 May and various ships were detached and other ships joined and the escort was reinforced with other vessels. On arrival at Gibraltar the following escorts had joined the convoy additional to the ones listed above; corvette HMS Pentstemon (T/Lt. D.C. Williams, RNVR), A/S trawlers HMS Gavotte (T/Lt. D. Bates, RNR), HMS Tango (T/Lt. J. Hunter, RNR) and the auxiliary A/S trawlers HMS King Sol (Lt. P.A. Read, RNR) and HMS Reighton Wyke (Skr. G.M. Sutherland, RNR).
Also the rescue tug HMRT Restive had joined the convoy (3)
21 May 1944
German U-boat U-453 was sunk in the Ionian Sea north-east of Cape Spartivento, in position 38°13'N, 16°36'E, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Termagent (Lt.Cdr. J.P. Scatchard, DSC, RN) and HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. D.F. Townsend, RN) and the British escort destroyer HMS Liddesdale (Lt. C.J. Bateman, RN).
Sources
- ADM 53/114886
- ADM 53/114749
- ADM 199/639
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.