HMS Repulse 1916-1941

[Steve Jones]

I am trying to put together the history of my Grandfather James Jones. He was on HMS Godetia when it sank in 1940. He was then apparently transferred to HMS Repulse and worked out of Mauritius. He was apparently part of the crew at the sinking in 1941 but I cannot find his name in any of the crew listings. If any one can shed any light on whether he was on the ship at the time of the sinking then please contact me on sjoneshayman@sky.com. Many thanks.

[DJBlackburn]

For me this, the most elegant of British battlecruisers, holds a special place among my favorite warships. Arguably one of the most underrated of all British capital ships, HMS Repulse existed in the shadow of her younger and infinitely more famous stepsister HMS Hood throughout most of her 25-year service career.

Handicapped from the start by inadequate protective armor, Repulse was fated to playing only supporting roles in WW2 and was usually "second fiddle" to others in the fleet, despite being among the fastest and best-crewed of all major Royal Navy heavy units. Unlike her once-twin HMS Renown, the battlecruiser was never fully reconstructed between wars, although she was considerably modernized from 1933-36.

The world's first capital ship to be fitted with a purpose-built aircraft hangar and athwartships catapult, Repulse also served as a test-bed for a new prototype twin 4-inch high-angle gun mounting, a successful weapon which developed into the 4.5-inch mounting later used in several ships, throughout WW2. Unfortunately, these mountings were removed in 1938-39, leaving the ship much less well-defended against attacking aircraft.

Sent to the Far East in late 1941 Repulse, together with the battleship Prince of Wales, formed the core of the ill-fated Force Z from Singapore. In one of the most controversial and poorly executed naval actions of the war, Repulse was lost to a massive Japanese aerial attack on December 10 but, thanks to superb handling by her crew and excellent CO Captain Tennant, only after the ship had evaded many torpedoes and was struck by five others.

I'd like to hear from other HMS Repulse enthusiasts, modelers, historians, etc.!

With My Regards,

DJB

[herakles]

Most interesting. Two such ill-fated ships, Hood and Repulse.

We've been chatting about the matter of Repulse and Price of Wales elsewhere here. Checkout the Prince of Wales thread.

As you say, a most tragic affair. Made all the worse by a lack of air cover.

[John Brown]

DJ

I agree with you that the Repulse was a fine looking ship but then I think all Battlecruisers, apart from a couple of the Japanese ones, look magnificent.

Here are a couple of pics of Repulse. Anybody know where the first one was taken?


John

[DJBlackburn]

The SNP recognition bands on B-turret date the photo to between mid-1937 and mid-1938, approximately. This was during one of the longest continuous peacetime commissions served by Repulse. From autumn 1938 to spring 1939, she underwent refit and structural modifications, which visibly altered her appearance.

[Batstiger]

Great pictures John I haven't seen those before. I can't help you on the location but according to the markings on "B" turret it was taken during the Spanish civil war.
Here are a few of my collection of the famous ship. I think she was a good looker!

[John Brown]

DJ

So this could be somewhere in Spain?

John

[Batstiger]

Whilst we are on about the Repulse may I also show some pictures of the only Battle cruiser to suvive the war.
By that I mean of course HMS Renown.

[Batstiger]

Sorry about pic No 5. Right name wrong era. My filing system needs a bit of attention!

[John Brown]

Blimey!!

Even better pictures Bob

John

[Kevin Denlay]

Excellent images guys, many I haven't seen before!

Now as much as I admire Repulse I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No offense meant but to me the most striking class of cruiser in any navy was the IJN Takao Class (followed closely by their Myoko Class) with the USN Atlanta Class vying for 2nd place. No doubt, each to his own!

Kevin

[ballymoney]

My Brother Was A Servior Of The Hms Repuse

He Is Now 89 Years Old He Would Like To No If There Is Any Other Survers Still Alive

He Has Some Photos Of Him Boxing On The Deck In 1940

Can You Help Many Thanks Herbert Burns
His No Dkx149776

[DJBlackburn]

http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/

Hello, Herbert!

Click on the blue link just above this text, it will take you to an excellent website dedicated to the Repulse and Prince of Wales, as well as other ships associated with Force Z off Malaya.

This is a survivors' Association, with much information on both the ships and their crews, including some excellent stories and survivor accounts of the battle!

DJ

[ballymoney]

many thanks i sent 2 emails to join association but did not get any replies all the best Herbert

[mjp01]

My Brother Was A Servior Of The Hms Repuse

He Is Now 89 Years Old He Would Like To No If There Is Any Other Survers Still Alive

He Has Some Photos Of Him Boxing On The Deck In 1940

Can You Help Many Thanks Herbert Burns
His No Dkx149776
My late father served on the HMS Repulse and went on to win the boxing championship in Hong Kong. Your brother might remember him (Michael Pryall) as you mention boxing. ...Mike

[Steve Jones]

My grandfather Jim Jones was a signalman on HMS Repulse during the 1930's.Jim came on board on 9th January 1936 abd left on 12th Jan 1937. He was involved in rescueing the refugees from Spain and Malaga. He married my Nan in 1939 who was a missionary in Spain during the Civil War. I am therefore after a list of the refugees which Repulse looked after during this time to see if this is when my Nan and Grandad first met. If anyone can help with this information then please email me. Many thanks.

[jbryce1437]

Hello Steve, welcome to the Forum and the best of luck in your search

Jim

[jbryce1437]

Hello Steve, you should be able to obtain your grandfathers service history from the National Archives, at a small cost. Have a look at this thread to see how its done:
http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3131&highlight=naval+records

[gortonboy]

hI,,,I am hoping i will recieve some advice regarding my research into my great uncle. I know very little about him,in fact up until a week ago,all i knew was his name,,and that he was a sailor during WW2. However i know a little more. I was told last week by an Aunt that my uncle john served on the REPULSE,,,,but that was all she knew. I have a couple of photos of him in uniform,,but none showing ships names. Intrigued,,i looked up the Repulse. What a story !!!! I then found a site listing the casualties and survivors,,and looked to see if my uncles name appeared. There was a JP KENNY,,LS {leading seaman ?} listed as a survivor. My uncles name was John Patrick Kenny.So.....how do i find out if my John Kenny is the Same John Kenny listed as a survivor on the website.If it is my John Kenny,,,how can i obtain his service records? I believe only next of kin can apply for service records...i dont know who his next of kin are....for all i know,,i may be his next of kin !! Any suggestions/comments/help would be much appreciated....regards,,,Mike.

[gortonboy]

hi,,i believe my great uncle served on the Repulse during ww2,,his name was John Patrick Kenny. If this name rings a bell with anyone,i would love to hear from you..regards,,Mike.

[Batstiger]

For a start here are plenty of pictures of the Repulse and Renown.

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1756&highlight=repulse

Bob.

[gortonboy]

hI,,,I am hoping i will recieve some advice regarding my research into my great uncle. I know very little about him,in fact up until a week ago,all i knew was his name,,and that he was a sailor during WW2. However i know a little more. I was told last week by an Aunt that my uncle john served on the REPULSE,,,,but that was all she knew. I have a couple of photos of him in uniform,,but none showing ships names. Intrigued,,i looked up the Repulse. What a story !!!! I then found a site listing the casualties and survivors,,and looked to see if my uncles name appeared. There was a JP KENNY,,LS {leading seaman ?} listed as a survivor. My uncles name was John Patrick Kenny.So.....how do i find out if my John Kenny is the Same John Kenny listed as a survivor on the website.If it is my John Kenny,,,how can i obtain his service records? I believe only next of kin can apply for service records...i dont know who his next of kin are....for all i know,,i may be his next of kin !! Any suggestions/comments/help would be much appreciated....regards,,,Mike.

[qprdave]

Read through this thread, Mike. It will tell you how to apply for Service Docs

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3131

[gortonboy]

hi,,thanks..but as i thought..only next of kin can apply for service records. Can i ask another question,,,on the force z repulse survivors site,,,after John P Kennys name there is a ref number,,,,,D SSX 20976.....Could this be his service number?????

[CYLLA]

gorton boy ,

You asked if D SSX 20976 was his offial number , yep it was .

You may have seen this site :::but ::: here is a link .

http://tinyurl.com/krodm9

I hope it helps.

cylla

[gortonboy]

Hi,,thanks,,,,yes,,,that is where i got my info from.

[ticksarah]

hello all, new member , just wondered would anyone have any information on the subject of DAVID w. j. l. LOVING my wifes grandad , he died the next day of wounds when REPULSE was sunk , he is buried in KRANJI, service number is 60227. we are trying to find out how he died,best wishes PAUL

[jbryce1437]

Welcome to the Forum Paul, hoping someone can help you find out how he died.

Jim

[ticksarah]

hello new member, we are looking for any information about DAVID LOVING who died next day of wounds when the REPULSE was sunk, he was my wifes grandad, anyone who has information about men rescued who died next day please respond, many thanks, PAUL and SARAH

[albion]

a guy at work has asked me if i know where he can find a copy online of a australian newspaper from ww2. his uncle was on repulse when she sank his family only findout he was alive when they saw a front page spread of a photo of surivivors and he ws in the back row smiling. any ides guys???

[jbryce1437]

We have members from around the world so, hopefully, someone may be able to point you in the right direction.

Jim

[ticksarah]

thanks very much

[gaz]

My Brother Was A Servior Of The Hms Repuse

He Is Now 89 Years Old He Would Like To No If There Is Any Other Survers Still Alive

He Has Some Photos Of Him Boxing On The Deck In 1940

Can You Help Many Thanks Herbert Burns
His No Dkx149776

hi herbert, my grandfather william barron, he was a petty officer cook, on hms repulse when it was sunk, he didnt suvive, but am interested if he knew him, would love to hear from you, my email adress is gary_barron@talktalk.net

[astraltrader]

Gaz. Welcome to the forum. I hope very much that Herbert or one of our other members does come back to help with your enquiry.

However you are not helping your situation by starting three different threads asking exactly the same thing!!

[spruso]

a guy at work has asked me if i know where he can find a copy online of a australian newspaper from ww2. his uncle was on repulse when she sank his family only findout he was alive when they saw a front page spread of a photo of surivivors and he ws in the back row smiling. any ides guys???

Don't know about online but most State Libraries in Oz have most of them on microfilm. There were a lot of newspapers so it would help if you could narrow it down to a date or city. If you can I'm sure you could get a researcher to check it out for you.
Cheers
Bruce

[ticksarah]

have got a crossing the line certificate from repulse 1923 world cruise, trying to find out the rank, reads along the lines of L G F SINDEN. OR MAYBE .L J C F SINDEN, ANY IDEAS FOLKS , thanks paul

[jbryce1437]

It may not be his rank, but the initials of his name. Is he related and could you post a scan?

[ticksarah]

item is framed, will do my best to send a copy when i get time, thanks for reply, paul. not related . how rare are they

[RNfanDan]

Just wanted everyone to know of an excellent website with some magnificent photographs of HMS Repulse under construction at John Brown's Clydebank Shipyard:
http://www.scotlandsimages.com/ResPages/Search.aspx?stype=2&sword=Repulse

Hope you enjoy them!

Note: I've a similar link for HMS Hood to be posted in that ship's thread, as well!

:)

[RNfanDan]

DJ

Here are a couple of pics of Repulse. Anybody know where the first one was taken?

John

BTW, although it is now long past its original date, I just noticed John's question back in post #4; the answer is: Toulon, 1938.

Hope I'm not too late with this?

:)

[spruso]

a guy at work has asked me if i know where he can find a copy online of a australian newspaper from ww2. his uncle was on repulse when she sank his family only findout he was alive when they saw a front page spread of a photo of surivivors and he ws in the back row smiling. any ides guys???

Hi Albion,

Oz newspapers are now online up to 1954. There is an article in the Sydney Morning Herald Thursday 22 Jan 1942 which contains a photo (Badly reproduced) with the following text:

H.M.S, REPULSE SURVIVORS
These cheery naval ratings are survivors of the British battlé cruiser H.M.S. Repulse, which was sunk with. H.M.S. Prince of Wales, by Japanese aircraft off the Malayan coast. They are (left to right) : J. Macbeth, a Scotsman; T. R. Andrews (Irish) ; J. H. Cooper (English); and E. J. Matthews (Welsh). The
men are now in Australia.

Maybe the photo you are looking for. You can search the newspaper files at:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home.

Cheers
Bruce

[sierra hotel]

havent seen this one before.....enjoy...

[qprdave]

I have moved Sierra hotel's picture of HMS Repulse to here, the HMS Repulse Thread.

Can members spend a minute, doing a search before posting so that we keep everything of one topic together.

Thanks

Dave

[Shinysheff]

Great picture, Sierra hotel. Lots of detail.

[astraltrader]

It has been taken from one of the well known Allan Green glass slides.

[John Brown]

BTW, although it is now long past its original date, I just noticed John's question back in post #4; the answer is: Toulon, 1938.

Hope I'm not too late with this?

:)

Dan

I've just picked up on your post. Many thanks for the info. Do you have any more detail on the visit to Toulon?


Regards...John

[RNfanDan]

Dan

I've just picked up on your post. Many thanks for the info. Do you have any more detail on the visit to Toulon?


Regards...John

Hello, John--

As nearly as I can tell, the photo was taken while Repulse was on an "official visit" to the French port. During 1938 she was engaged in a very busy and lengthy commission in the Med, one of her longest since the 1920s (when she accompanied Hood on an Empire Cruise). Far from those Halcyon Days however, Repulse's late-1930s commission was much more military in nature.

The ship was involved in supporting British military troop "police actions" at times, especially Palestinian unrest (how little things change!), performing Neutrality Patrol duties under potentially hostile conditions during the Spanish civil war, and providing humanitarian evacuation duties relevant to same. The Toulon photo clearly shows the ship wearing its Neutrality Patrol markings on B turret, confirming its dating.

Repulse did not return to home waters until (I believe) autumn that year, then underwent an extended refit at Portsmouth from around October until March of 1939. I would be inclined to think records of the ship's movements and activities during her lengthy Med commission exist, whether PRO, NMM, or other UK archives.

I hope this helps,

Dan

[John Brown]

Hi Dan

Many thanks for the info. Much appreciated.


Regards...John