American Lend-Lease: Destroyers

[Dave]

My grandfather was sent to pick up one of the Lend Lease destroyers the US gave the UK in exchange for bases in the West Indies. His service record is silent on this subject, but I know he was part of the crew sent to pick up one of the vessels. (He visited my mother in Canada during this time who had been evacuated from England)
Any information on how to obtain more information on this subject would be appreciated.

[jbryce1437]

Can only assume that he was on detachment, possibly before the ships had been converted for RN use and renamed. The Town Class destoyers were relics from the end of the first world war era, having been built for the USA between 1917 to 1920 and included HMS:
Bath
Belmont
Beverley
Bradford
Brighton
Broadwater
Broadway
Burnham
Burwell
Buxton
Caldwell
Campbeltown
Cameron
Castleton
Charlestown
Chelsea
Chesterfield
Churchill
Clare
Georgetown
Lancaster
Leamington
Leeds
Lewes
Lincoln
Ludlow
Mansfield
Montgomery
Newark
Newmarket
Newport
Ramsey
Reading
Richmond
Ripley
Rockingham
Roxburgh
Salisbury
Sherwood
Stanley
St Albans
St Mary’s
Wells

This photo is of the last on the list, HMS Wells, ex USS Tillman

[tim lewin]

HMS Broadwater was lost in a convoy action with U-boats in October 1941, the same night the the USN suffered their first loss in action when USS Kearney was torpedoed (she survived). Broadwater had as one of her company Lieutenant John Parker, one of the US volunteers comemorated on the floor plaque in the Painted Hall at Greenwich (See earlier post on US Volunteers). John Parker was a former USN officer who had served in the Towns when they were new in 1919, he later became a Wall St. banker, car and seaplane racer and highly successful businessman. He lied about his age, claiming to be 40 instead of 50 and made his way via Canada to come to the UK in those darkest of days to help us. He became a great friend of the "Duchess of Duke Street" and the family of WSC. He did not survive the sinking. The first ship to arrive on the scene of the sinking was HMS Highlander, one of the Brazilian "Hs", in which my father was serving as sub. The impression of the sinking and smell of FFO in the water impressed him forever.
tim

[Batstiger]

From Uss Buchanan to HMS Cambeltown to scrap.
There are a few pics with this post so I will upload in two sections.

[Batstiger]

Part two. We have had the build up to it and now for the Finale.