H.M.S. Pheasant: |
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This page is dedicated to the
Royal Navy, whereon under the good providence of God, the wealth, safety
and strength of the Kingdom largely depend. And to HMS Pheasant and its
crew and especially the members of the HMS Pheasant Reunion Association
(the U49'ers') and chiefly my father Ernest Barnes, Stoker First Class.
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1943 |
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HMS Pheasant, pennant number
U49, was a Modified Black Swan class sloop. She was ordered from
Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd. of Scotstoun, Scotland under the 1940 Build
Programme on the 27th March 1941. HMS Pheasant was laid down on the 13th
July 1942 and launched on the 21st December 1942 by Mrs. Mitchell as the
7th Royal Navy ship to carry the name first introduced in 1761 and last used on
a World War One destroyer sunk in 1917. She was commissioned on the
12th May 1943 and fitted with an anti-submarine ahead throwing mortar
(HEDGEHOG) as well as Type 272 surface warning radar and Type 285 for the fire
control of the main armament. Following a successful WARSHIP WEEK National
Savings campaign she had been adopted by the civil community of Runcorn Rural
District , Lancashire (now in the county of Cheshire). In all, twenty-nine modified Black Swans were launched
between 1942 and 1945. The Modified Black Swan class sloops were
specialized convoy-defence vessels, with anti-aircraft and
anti-submarine capability. They were designed to have a longer range
than a destroyer at the expense of a lower top speed, while remaining
capable of outrunning the German Type VII and Type IX U-boats when
surfaced. HMS Pheasant had a displacement of 1,925 tons, being 283ft in length with a 38ft beam. For armament, the Pheasant had six 4 inch and ten 20mm Anti-Aircraft guns. Powered by a steam powered geared turbine through twin shafts, the Pheasant had a range of 4,500 nautical miles and a top speed of 20 knots - their prey, the German U-Boats could only manage 18 knots on the surface and no more than 8 knots submerged.. The Pheasant had a crew of 192, although this was increased when "Captain D" was aboard. In the latter part of the war she was sent to the Pacific and was present in Yokohama Bay when the Japanese surrendered on the 2nd September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. Supply Assistant (affectionately known as a 'Jack Dusty') Gerald W. Goldney witnessed the event - here are his words as published on the BBC2 website, "The People's War". "I was in the Royal Navy, a supply assistant on board H.M.S. Pheasant, Part of the British Pacific Fleet. The atom bomb had just been dropped on Hiroshima and the Japanese had surrendered. After a few days of waiting the fleet steamed towards Japan and a few days later we were passing between the cliffs decked with very conspicuous white flags and into Yokohama Bay. I shall never forget the sight of the American Fleet anchored in the bay all around us. There seemed to be hundreds of ships and I doubt if there will ever be so many war ships in one place again. We anchored in our allotted place. We were still wary of the Japanese and so each ship was a certain distance from its neighbours in case they attempted to place impact mines on the hulls. At night the sea round the ships was floodlit and all the ships lit up (again to deter the Japanese from a sudden attack) and this was a spectacular sight. We were told the Japanese would make the surrender on board the U.S.S Missouri and on the afternoon in question I watched through binoculars. The party of Japanese in their long black coats and top hats boarded the battle ship from the small tug-boat which had bought them from the dock side. Only then did we believe the war was over. We were very happy as we hoped that it would not be long before we would be on our way home. The next few days were somewhat of an ante-climax. Parties of seamen were sent ashore to search for prisoners of war, and the sight of these pitiful skeletons of men made us realise how dreadful war was. Aircraft carriers had been cleared of their aircraft and men were placed between decks. Once full they sailed for Australia. Some days later we weighed anchor and sailed to Hong Kong to help bring that city back to life." Copyright Gerald W Goldney / BBC WW2 People's War - The Japanese Surrender in Yokohama Bay After the war HMS Pheasant was deployed with the 1st Escort Group and refitted at Brisbane during October 1945. She then returned to Hong Kong as part of the 32nd Escort Group for patrol in defence of British shipping. Later in 1946 she took passage to UK to pay-off the crew and was reduced to Reserve status at Portsmouth. During 1954 she was transferred to the Reserve Fleet at Barry and laid-up for six years. By that time her condition had deteriorated and she was placed on the Disposal List at Plymouth and sold to BISCO for demolition by West of Scotland Shipbreakers at Troon. The ship arrived in tow at the breaker’s yard on 15th January 1963. |
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HMS Pheasant, Gibraltar, Christmas 1944:: |
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The Stokers of Number 9 Mess : Cyril 'Lofty' Snell, Jimmy James, Harry Fawley, Bob 'Ginger' Hodgins, Leading Stoker Drew, Crosby, Doyle, Viney, Bullock, 'Swede' Anson, 'Jock' Nee, 'Three Badge' Rochester. and of course, my father, Ernest Barnes, then aged seventeen. | ||||||
The "Station Card"
of Stoker 1st Class Ernest Barnes of Number 9 Mess. The station card was
given in when going ashore and taken back when boarding ship. This was
to make it possible to determine the whereabouts of crew members and
avoid inadvertently leaving men behind. The scanned image of my fathers' station card is shown larger than life. It actually measures 87mm wide by 60mm high, or for those of us brought up on Imperial measurements, 3 1/2 inches wide by 2 4/10 inches height. Other Station Cards have come to light, one is for the Royal Naval Barracks at Portsmouth and is dated 1946. The other is only identified as 'Mess 6'. Both are shown on this page. |
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Christmas Card from HMS Pheasant 1946:: |
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HMS Pheasant Association - the U49'ers:: |
HMS Pheasant Shipmates::Barnes, Ernie (Stoker 9 Mess)Belshaw, Tom (Ldg. Stoker) Corfield, Tom (Bosun's Mate 1 Mess) Davis, Roy (5 Mess) Gillis, John (Telegraphist) Goode, Maurice (Oxo) Higgs, Gerald J (A/B Radar Control) Lock, Harry (6 Mess) Moore, Ian (Towing Crew Jan 63) Lt. Comm. O'Connor, Peter (A/B Radar 8 Mess) Robins, Mervyn (L/S L/TO 5 Mess) Tibbetts, Les ('Jack Dusty') Treadwell, George (Coder "Wellington") Wallis, Steve (A/B Radar 8 Mess) |
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Like many other Royal Navy ships, HMS Pheasant has an old ship-mates
association, known as the U49'ers - taking its name from the pennant
number of HMS Pheasant. Every month a newsletter, "The Pheasant Echo" is
sent to all members of the U49'ers Association (and to the Imperial War
Museum) by its editor John Gillis. Members of the U49'ers contribute
with stories of their time spent on board the Pheasant. JULY 2010 -
saw the 240th Edition of The Pheasant Echo. The last issue of the Pheasant Echo entitled "THE LAST HURRAH" was volume 7 number 18, January 2012. Old age and increasing costs has sadly led author John Gillis to cease its production. |
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Pheasant Shipmates Roll of Honour:: |
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Ernest Harold William Barnes 'Stripey'* Frank Rowan Lee Webster Jim (Shiner) Wright Frank Bumstead Bernie (Dingy) Dowding Vic Neale Buddy Flanagan Walter Bower Sid Armstrong George (Don) Donald Ken Stops Gerald Frost Ken Stops Charlie (Taff) Ingram Ron Baigent Ray Jones Ron (Ollie) Jeffries Jim Dawkins (B Gun 2 Mess) Harry Fawley Admiral Sir Robert Durnford-Slater Les Saberton ('SABU') Bob Erridge Jimmy Wright (Telegraphist) Dennis Trowbridge Keith Turner George Warman Lt. F. A. Heyes MBE, DSC Bob Hodgins Com. David Gay MBE FNI Stan Lawrence Cyril (Lofty) Snell Harry Lambe OBE RNVR (Retd) E. A. 'Dick' Bird Tom Sefton (C. ERA) Len Whittingham Aubrey Fowkes Alf Hardwick (Leading Stoker) Bill Howell Len May R. E. (Bill) Billingham FRS Cyril Weeks Bert Chaney S/Lt. John Allatt Royston Frederick Creffield Jim Robb Ted Harbord Claude Cartwright Bill Sheppard James Hiscock (ADIC Operator) Andrew McLeod (Petty Officer) |
Died 4th November 2022 Died 18th January 2006 Died 17th February 1993 Died 20th February 1995 Died 22nd February 2008 Died 27th February 2010 Died 24th February 1999 Died 29th February 1955 Died 3rd March 2007 Died 4th March 2008 Died 6th March 1996 Died 28th March 2008 Died 14th April 1997 Died 18th April 2008 Died 28th April 2001 Died 11th May 1996 Died 14th May 1997 Died 27th May 2003 Died 5th June 2010 Died 11th June 2000 Died 26th June 1984 Died 27th June 1994 Died 27th June 2001 Died 13th July 2010 Died 18th July 1994 Died 18th July 1996 Died 1st August 2007 Died 11th August 1994 Died 17th August 2001 Died 23rd August 1998 Died 23rd September 2003 Died 27th August 1994 Died 10th September 2009 Died 28th September 1994 Died 29th September 1990 Died 4th October 2007 Died 9th October 1997 Died 18th October 2010 Died 2nd November 2002 Died 6th November 1993 Died 16th November 2002 Died 22nd November 2001 Died 2nd December 2007 Died 9th December 1997 Died 10th December 2006 Died 19th December 1998 Died 21st December 2008 Died 25th December 2005 Died 30th December 2002 Died 1985 Died 1985 |
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A newspaper clipping from 1945 that lists the Royal Navy ships present in Tokyo Bay and surrounding area during the Japanese surrender. |
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Ship Safety June 1943 |
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Station Card - Mess 6 |
Station Card Portsmouth Naval Barracks |
Station Card Portsmouth Naval Barracks |
Station Card Portsmouth Naval Barracks |
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*This was a nickname given to him by his mess mates. Long serving members of the Royal Navy would wear stripes on their uniforms donating their length of service. As Ernest Barnes was the youngest member of the Pheasant crew and so had little service time, the nickname was somewhat ironic. As the youngest member of the crew of the Pheasant, he may well have been the last surviving member - if you know of any other of the crew still living (this being written in April 2023) please email me, my email address is on the home page of www.barnesfamilyhistory.org.uk web site. |
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