HMS Curlew 1917-1940

[HOOKY]

hi,bit of a long shot this,my mother in law last saw her father in 1939/40 when he was on hms curlew,i know she was sunk in 1940 in norway,could anyone tell me what happened to the crew after the sinking.he was not listed as a casualty.his name was charlie walters,and that is all the info i have.curlew i believe was a ceres class cruiser.thank you.hooky

[jbryce1437]

Yes Curlew was a Ceres class light cruiser, built by Vickers in 1917 and converted to an AA ship in 1938. She was sunk on 26 May 1940 at Ofotfjord, Norway. Hoping that someone can help you with information regarding the crew.

Jim

This photo is of her leaving Malta

[Batstiger]

Another pic of the Curlew.

[HOOKY]

hi,thanks for pic,and taking time to post.
hooky

[farmyard]

I have a mate that saw the curlew hit by a bomb but has no idea of what became of the crew after they came ashore.
The bomb hit the rear of the ship above the tea room.

[ann1964]

My GGFather was on the Curlew between 1922 and 1925. I have found out on someone else's web site that this ship was out in the West Indies for all this time. Would a sailor be at sea and away from his family for all this time?
Thanks for any help!

[qprdave]

It was not unusual for a ship to be based abroad for 2,5,10yrs perhaps longer. That does not mean that the crew stayed with the ship. The crew would be changed periodically by shipping out a crew from the UK and returning with the old crew. This might be by Troop ship or a ship of similar size and crew. The new crew would take the ship out and the old crew would bring it back. The ship on station would be refitted on Station i.e Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Simonstown and in this case Bermuda

Here are some movements of HMS Curlew during the time that you are inquiring about.

1923 05th Jun In Gaillard Cut, Panama Canal
1923 04th Aug Arrived Honolulu
1923 11th Aug Sailed Honolulu
1923 16th Aug At Washington Island
1924 03rd May At Hamilton, Bermuda
1924 10th Aug At Barbados
1924 08th Mar At Haiti
1924 10th Apr At Demerara, British Guiana
1925 17th Feb At Barbados
1925 22nd Feb At Dominica
1925 18th Jan At Jamaica
1925 16th Jan Sailed Belize
1925 10th Jan Sailed Key West Florida
1925 03rd Jan Arrived Key West, Florida
1925 13th Jan Arrived Belize

[ann1964]

It was not unusual for a ship to be based abroad for 2,5,10yrs perhaps longer. That does not mean that the crew stayed with the ship. The crew would be changed periodically by shipping out a crew from the UK and returning with the old crew. This might be by Troop ship or a ship of similar size and crew. The new crew would take the ship out and the old crew would bring it back. The ship on station would be refitted on Station i.e Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Simonstown and in this case Bermuda

Here are some movements of HMS Curlew during the time that you are inquiring about.

1923 05th Jun In Gaillard Cut, Panama Canal
1923 04th Aug Arrived Honolulu
1923 11th Aug Sailed Honolulu
1923 16th Aug At Washington Island
1924 03rd May At Hamilton, Bermuda
1924 10th Aug At Barbados
1924 08th Mar At Haiti
1924 10th Apr At Demerara, British Guiana
1925 17th Feb At Barbados
1925 22nd Feb At Dominica
1925 18th Jan At Jamaica
1925 16th Jan Sailed Belize
1925 10th Jan Sailed Key West Florida
1925 03rd Jan Arrived Key West, Florida
1925 13th Jan Arrived Belize

Hi, I thought it was a long time to be away from family, but it dose say he was on that ship for that length of time! so would it give another ships name if he was'nt on it all this time

[alanbenn]

Ann, if he was allocated to another ship it would be listed, it was not unusual in those days for a sailor to be away for 3 years onboard a ship, you only give the years 1922-1925, it may well be late 1922 to early 1925 which is a little over 2 years and was quite common.

Regards
Alan

[ann1964]

Ann, if he was allocated to another ship it would be listed, it was not unusual in those days for a sailor to be away for 3 years onboard a ship, you only give the years 1922-1925, it may well be late 1922 to early 1925 which is a little over 2 years and was quite common.

Regards
Alan

Nov 22 until Oct 25 so i think he was on all the time! Which seems to be the round trip.
Thanks for your help!
Ann

[qprdave]

Here is the Itinerary for the Curlew Pacific Cruise 1923

Dave

[ann1964]

Here is the Itinerary for the Curlew Pacific Cruise 1923

Dave

Thanks, I've found a web site about George Smith who was the ship photographer so some really good info and pic's.
Thanks Ann

[richardsp85]

Hi all,

I came across a photo which was tagged some of the suvivors of Curlew. Unfortunately the names of these people are not there. Can anyone PLEASE provide some more information on this, im very deseperate!!

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/hms_curlew.htm

Scroll down till you see the photo tagged "Some of the survivors from HMS Curlew"

[kc]

Hi there,

The website you linked to is our own website (the predecessor to this forum) and I scanned and uploaded that photo myself. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no more information on the photo - just the picture itself. We always add extra info if it is there.

The caption below the photo was a (badly worded) appeal for more information.

[annalexander]

I am looking for any information on William John Hill who was ships cook on HMS Curlew.He is my grandfather whom I have never seen and would love to be able to see what he looked like and any other info on him.Thanks Ann

[jainso31]

A belated welcome to the Forum in your quest for information about William John Hill of HMS Curlew.A daunting task; but we have some remarkable people, who might well unearth something about your Grandfather, so hang on in there Anna.The attachment gives info. about the ship and it's loss at Narvik ;casualties did not include W J Hill.Click on link.

jainso31
http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Curlew.htm

[annalexander]

Thank you for answering my query.