Hi My Grandfather served in the Navy during WW2. I've got a little information from him, but he doesn't like to talk about it too much. I tried to find some info' about the ship he was on. Ever since I was a young boy he has always said he was on the HMS Leander for 5 yrs, (between 40-45) and that he was stationed in Iceland. The information I've found regarding the Leanders movements is that, she was leased to the New Zealand Navy, pretty much for the duration of the war. Spent most of her time in the Indian Ocean with occasional visits to the South Pacifc, and only a very brief visit to Iceland. Hmmmm........ When questioned he is adament the Leander was a Royal Navy ship and her home port was Chatham, Kent. Although he's mid-80's, he still has "All his Marbles" so to speak, so I have no reason to disbelieve him, but I can't find any info that substantiates his story. He also said that for leave, they used to sail between Kent and Iceland on a ship called HMS Bowler, I can't find ANY info on her...! It's as if she didn't even exist. Can anyone throw a little light on this for me? Best Regards Mark
Don't know about HMS Bowler, but HMNZS Leander's story is well-told in Jack Harker's book "Carry On Leander," which you should be able to find (albeit for a lot of money) on abebooks.com You can also try the Royal New Zealand Navy's Official History, and the New Zealanders did a volume on Leander itself. The former book may be on the web by now...a university in New Zealand has been putting the official histories on the web. Leander was sent back to England after taking that torpedo at Kolombangara for major repairs. Her crew was shifted to HMNZS Gambia (or HMNZS Achilles, I can't remember which) when it was decided that Leander could not be repaired swiftly. So your grandfather might have been posted to Leander in England as part of the caretaker/repair crew.
LEANDER - RNZ 1939 to 1940, Med and Red Sea 1940,East Indies 1941, New Zeland 1941 to 1943, refit USA 1944 to 45 Lenton & Colledge Warships of WW2 Aye MalcolmII
Hi Kiwiwriter and Malcolm. Many thanks for the info', this pretty much gives evidence to the facts I've found. Thanks for the tip on the repair crew, I'll have to look down that route, sounds quite favourable as he was in engineering. I'll have to go and question him some more, which won't be easy. As I've said he doesn't give a lot away, and hated the experience so much he didn't even apply for his medals. Still hasn't to this day, far too proud for his own good. Best Regards. Mark
Hi Just been looking through an old book on the Fleet Air Arm and got the following which you may or may not have. It realy just confirms what you already have. -------------------------------------------------------------- HMS LEANDER was built in His Majesty's Dockyard Devonport, England, being the name ship for a class of light cruisers. She was laid down on 8 September 1930, launched on 24 September 1931 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 23 March 1933. The ship was acquired by New Zealand, on loan, along with a sister ship HMS ACHILLES, to replace HM Ships DUNEDIN and DIOMEDE, respectively.
