Ships of the Royal Navy
The Wellington is the last surviving member of the Grimsby Class sloops. The 13 ships of the class were built in the 1930s to serve primarily as convoy escorts. Four were lost through enemy action during the Second World War and their histories are briefly outlined below:
HMS Aberdeen (L97)
Launched 22nd January 1936 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Aberdeen served with the Royal Navy until being sold for scrap on the 16th December 1948.
HMS Deptford (L53)
Launched 24th March 1936 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Fleetwood served with the Royal Navy until being scrapped on the 10th of October 1959.
HMS Fleetwood (L47)
Launched 24th March 1936 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Fleetwood served with the Royal Navy until being scrapped on the 10th of October 1959.
HMS Grimsby (L16)
Launched 17th May 1934 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Grimsby served with the Royal Navy until being sunk by German aircraft on the 25th May 1941 off Tobruk, Libya. Six months later her sister ship HMAS Yarra was also lost in the same area.
HMS Leith (L36)
Launched 9th September 1933 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Leith served with the Royal Navy until being sold in 1946 at which point she traded as a merchant ship named the Byron . She was subsequently renamed the Friendship in 1948. The Royal Danish Navy then bought her on the 26th August of 1949 and renamed her Galathea. She was finally scrapped in 1955.
HMS Londonderry (L76)
Launched 16th January 1935 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Londonderry served with the Royal Navy until being scrapped on the 8th March 1946.
HMS Lowestoft (L59)
Launched 11th March 1934 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Lowestoft served with the Royal Navy until being scrapped on the 4th of October 1946.
HMS Wellington (L65)
Launched 29th May 1934 in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. Wellington served with the Royal Navy until being sold to The Honourable Company of Master Mariners on the 6th February 1947. Currently moored at Victoria Embankment, London
