HMS Hecla 1879-1926 (Ex 'British Empire') World Naval Ships Forums Archive

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HMS Hecla 1879-1926 (Ex 'British Empire') World Naval Ships Forums Archive

HMS Hecla 1879-1926 (Ex 'British Empire')

Posts 1 to 31

Both my Grandfather and the grandfather of a friend of mine served on HMS Hecla, a depot ship on Lough Swilly, County Donegal, Ireland, near Buncara. They were both on it for a few months each in 1919. Was this connected with the easter rising and involved in providing partols against gun runners, or was it just a method of keeping experiance sailors when the number of ships was reduced?.

My wifes grandfather was drafted from the Dido to the Hecla on 1st march 1919 and left her in Oct 1919. According to his service docs, the commanding officer was, A Smyth (rank not noted ). She was aware of the Hecla's involvement in the Irish troubles.

Paddy/Collind If your relatives were serving on HECLA II they were on the Shorebase of that name at Buncrana. This was in commission from 1917-1919. HMS HECLA , the depot ship, had been on station in 1917 up to Dec 1918 as Depot Ship for the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla. She then left and returned to Chatham. Does this help? Regards Gerry

Hecla [ex British Crown] was at Buncrana from September 1917 till December 1918 then went to Chatham. Hecla II shore base was for Auxiliary patrol vessels and was at Buncrana from October 1917 and paid off in August 1919 The Auxiliary Patrol vessels were then controlled by Colleen the base at Queenstown .It was in existence from 1914 till 1922 . [Base ship Colleen was handed over to the Irish in 1923] Hope it helps Fred.

I srved in Hecla the survey ship, out of interest the first VC was awarded to Charles Lucas who threw a live shell overboard in the Baltic sea during the war there in 1857 from the deck of HMS Hecla. I think Hecla was a steam ship with side paddles, the story goes that class of ships were named after volcanoes, they, being early steam ships which the die-hard sailing ship Admirals believed would explode like a volcano.:eek:

[QUOTE=Paddy;28495]My wifes grandfather was drafted from the Dido to the Hecla on 1st march 1919 and left her in Oct 1919. According to his service docs, the commanding officer was, A Smyth (rank not noted ). She was aware of the Hecla's involvement in the Irish troubles.[/QUOTE] Before the Hecla, the wifes grand father was on the DIDO 1914 - 1919, this is obviously not the Dido of my era, as in Dido and Cleopatra but I gather was a destroyer depot ship. His docs show he was on her for 4 years which seems a long time. After the Dido he was on HMS Dolphin , I have still to determine if todays Dolphin was arround then or if it was yet another depot ship. After that he was on the Lucia for 3 years. She is another unknown to me ,as yet. All info on the above gratefully accepted. Also can some kind person tell me where one starts his own new thread or post, instead of piggybacking other posts. Paddy

HMS Dolphin (In Gosport) was taken over by the Admiralty (from the Royal Engineers) in 1904. HMS Lucia was a Depot Ship. Captured from the Germans in 1914 by HMS Berwick. She was converted in 1916. Her previous name was Spreewald.

[QUOTE=Paddy;28495]My wifes grandfather was drafted from the Dido to the Hecla on 1st march 1919 and left her in Oct 1919. According to his service docs, the commanding officer was, A Smyth (rank not noted ). She was aware of the Hecla's involvement in the Irish troubles.[/QUOTE] [B]smallish world I suppose[/B] as my grandfather was also posted to Hecla on 1 Mar 1919 to 21 Oct 1919 and previously from Dido (12 Oct 1917 - 28 Feb 1919). His service record is in an earlier post. Wasn't aware of [I]'Hecla's involvement in the Irish troubles'[/I] until I read this, I'll have to check it out now!

[QUOTE=SCRG1970;28501]Paddy/Collind If your relatives were serving on HECLA II they were on the Shorebase of that name at Buncrana. This was in commission from 1917-1919. HMS HECLA , the depot ship, had been on station in 1917 up to Dec 1918 as Depot Ship for the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla. She then left and returned to Chatham.[url]http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=28501[/url] Does this help? Regards Gerry[/QUOTE] Thanks for that gerry, I was looking for dates March - Oct 1919, so maybe she sat at chatham for some of that time. A campaigns list of the 2nd destroyer flotilla would be a good indication of where her support was required. Also I would like to find what HMS Dido was up to from 1914 to 1919, maybe I can find a site for WW1 battle honours. I supose it was common for a man to spend the whole of the war on one ship, obviously more economical and you would certainly know your ship and mates after that time. As a matter of interest, was your wifes grand father a bootneck. Paddy

"grandfather a bootneck"?, no he wasn't a marine (is that a 'bootneck'?), he was in stores supply on Dido and Hecla.

Paddy DIDOs war service was as a Destroyer Depot Ship at Harwich supporting the 3rd DF 1914-1915, followed by the 9th DF 1915-1917 and lastly the 10th DF until 1919. She then moved to Portsmouth to perform the same job for Reserve Fleet Destroyers 1919-1926. Regards gerry

[QUOTE=SCRG1970;32107]Paddy DIDOs war service was as a Destroyer Depot Ship at Harwich supporting the 3rd DF 1914-1915, followed by the 9th DF 1915-1917 and lastly the 10th DF until 1919. She then moved to Portsmouth to perform the same job for Reserve Fleet Destroyers 1919-1926. Regards gerry[/QUOTE] Thanks for that gerry, I knew she was a depot ship based at harwich, what I don't know is if her support extended to the the theatre of war or if she remained stattic. Also does the depot ship carry the battle honours of the flotilla it supports?. Paddy.

Paddy DIDOs role would have been as a static support ship at Harwich unlike those in the Med where the tide of war moved from theatre to theatre. She would not have assumed the Battle Honours of her flotilla only those of her previous namesakes. The Honours for Dido were Egypt 1801, Syria 1840 and China 1842. The next honour was Crete 1941 awarded to the cruiser of 1939. Regards gerry

[QUOTE=SCRG1970;32274]Paddy DIDOs role would have been as a static support ship at Harwich unlike those in the Med where the tide of war moved from theatre to theatre. She would not have assumed the Battle Honours of her flotilla only those of her previous namesakes. The Honours for Dido were Egypt 1801, Syria 1840 and China 1842. The next honour was Crete 1941 awarded to the cruiser of 1939. Regards gerry[/QUOTE] Thanks again gerry. My wife's grandfather was a marine who spent the whole war ( 1914 - 1919 ) on the Dido, his son, my wife's uncle is adamant that his father was involved in the Galipoli campaign. I supose one of the reasons for men not wearing cap ribons in time of war is that it is easier to second them to ships that need replacements, and in the Dardenelles they certainly needed replacements. I imagine it is quite possible that his son is correct. Paddy

[QUOTE=Paddy;32293]Thanks again gerry. My wife's grandfather was a marine who spent the whole war ( 1914 - 1919 ) on the Dido, his son, my wife's uncle is adamant that his father was involved in the Galipoli campaign. I supose one of the reasons for men not wearing cap ribons in time of war is that it is earier to second them to ships that need replacements, and in the Dardenelles they certainly needed replacements. I imagine it is quite possible that his son is correct. Paddy[/QUOTE] I have just noticed that I have been promoted to PO. Does the pay rise go with it ? Paddy

Paddy - without wishing at all to appear rude, the answer to that question can be expressed by the initials of your new rank!!:p

[QUOTE=Paddy;32293]Thanks again gerry. My wife's grandfather was a marine who spent the whole war ( 1914 - 1919 ) on the Dido, his son, my wife's uncle is adamant that his father was involved in the Galipoli campaign. I supose one of the reasons for men not wearing cap ribons in time of war is that it is easier to second them to ships that need replacements, and in the Dardenelles they certainly needed replacements. I imagine it is quite possible that his son is correct. Paddy[/QUOTE] Paddy why don't you get a copy of the wife's G/Fathers service documents you can get them online for about £3.50 downloaded from the National Archives ----they will then tell you for real what the guy did and what he was . Fred

[QUOTE=Rorqual;32430]Paddy why don't you get a copy of the wife's G/Fathers service documents you can get them online for about £3.50 downloaded from the National Archives ----they will then tell you for real what the guy did and what he was . Fred[/QUOTE] Got them Fred, we know what ships he was on, we want to know what the ships did. I gather he was on the Hood but came off before the big one, she also had an uncle who was a trimmer on the Titanic ( and survived ). How lucky can one familly be ?.

[QUOTE=Paddy;32498]Got them Fred, we know what ships he was on, we want to know what the ships did. I gather he was on the Hood but came off before the big one, she also had an uncle who was a trimmer on the Titanic ( and survived ). How lucky can one familly be ?.[/QUOTE] The Service Documents for any given serving guy are written as a continuous record with dates and ships the person served on and what he was at the time . They are also written up yearly for character assessment with comments. So if you want to post the record as an attachment I or the others will decipher it for you . Give us the facts and we'll give you your relatives details of his time in the RN from joining to getting discharged. Fred

[QUOTE=Rorqual;32631]The Service Documents for any given serving guy are written as a continuous record with dates and ships the person served on and what he was at the time . They are also written up yearly for character assessment with comments. So if you want to post the record as an attachment I or the others will decipher it for you . Give us the facts and we'll give you your relatives details of his time in the RN from joining to getting discharged. Fred[/QUOTE] I am ok with deciphering service docs fred, ive had plenty of experiance and the wifes grand dad is straight foreward except for ships movements. My old grand-dad would be a bit more difficult though, he deserted from the army and joined the R N without telling them, dont know what his excuse was. Paddy.

Hi again folks, I'm still chasing down details of my relative, William Wheelhouse. From 9 February to 15 May 1918 he was with HMS Hecla, but I have no idea where it was located at these times. If anyone can tell me I'd really appreciate it.

HECLA was a depot ship. She was stationed at Buncrana, Northern Ireland, from September 1917 to December 1918, acting as the parent for the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla and the local Auxiliary Patrol armed trawlers.

Great! Thanks.

Hi again Beery. To give you an idea this is a picture of the destroyer depot ship Hecla.
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Isn't that the HMS Hecla that was built in 1940? The ship next to her with the number G66 looks like a destroyer. According to a quick search online, the O class destroyer HMS Oribi carried the G66 pennant from 1941 - 1946. As such, it can't be the same Hecla, because from what I can gather, the WW1 Hecla was sold for scrap in 1926.

certainly looks like Oribi, there are more ships in this picture than the whole Navy now!

The Hecla which served in WW1 is a different vessel to the one pictured in the previous post. A couple of photos of Hecla can be seen here: [url]http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/depot_ships.htm[/url] Hecla was formerly named British Crown and she weighed in at 6,400 tons. She was built by Harland and Wolff in 1878 and purchased by the Admiralty in the same year. She was rebuilt in 1912 at 5,600 tons and served until 1926, when she was sold to Ward, Preston.

Sorry Beery and Jim - had a blonde hair moment with a picture of the wrong Hecla!! Here is a more appropriate image for you!!
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No problem Terry, I have them all of the time, Grey hair moments that is. Great pic, I would have posted one of her but didnt have one, I have now though;)

A postcard scan. Pete
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I like the photograph of HMS HECLA (1878) but is it dated? She was the depot ship for the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla at the Battle of Jutland. The 4th DF was also known as the Portsmouth Flotilla. This photograph of her officers and crew was taken at Portsmouth and is from the photograph album of Gladys Howard (1916-2017), the first woman police inspector of Portsmouth. It is reproduced courtesy of Dr Clifford Williams, a police historian who is writing an account of her life. Can anybody identify the names of those in the photograph? Or the place and date on which it was taken?
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