Remembering today: William Stephen Errol Wilson Able Seaman C/SSX23950 Royal Navy, HMS Gallant Died: 10/1/1941 Commemorated: Chatham Memorial Son of Walter B. and Sarah Wilson, of Newtongrange, Midlothian. Remembered with honour.
Remembering today: William Stephen Errol Wilson Able Seaman C/SSX23950 Royal Navy, HMS Gallant Died: 10/1/1941 Commemorated: Chatham Memorial Son of Walter B. and Sarah Wilson, of Newtongrange, Midlothian. Remembered with honour. On 10th January 1941 the destroyer HMS Gallant was damaged by a mine in the Sicilian Channel near Pantelleria and was towed into Malta harbour. During Operation Excess, Gallant struck a mine off Pantellaria on 10 January 1941 that detonated her forward magazine. The explosion blew the bow off the ship, killing 65 and injuring 15 more of her crew. Her sister Griffin rescued most of the survivors and the destroyer HMS Mohawk towed her stern-first to Malta. The ship was slowly repaired and in October 1941 it was estimated that they would be completed in June 1942. However, on 5 April 1942, she was extensively damaged by bomb splinters by an air raid on Valletta and had to be beached at Pinto's Wharf to prevent her from sinking. She was judged to be a constructive total loss and any usable equipment was stripped from her hulk. Gallant was expended as a blockship at St Paul's Island in September 1943, with the wreck being broken up in 1953.