Ships called ‘Chelsea’ during the Second World War

Two ships bearing the name of “Chelsea” gave service during the Second World War.

H.M.S. Chelsea was a destroyer and had a long, extensive and active role hunting submarines and protecting convoys, cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers.

S.S. Chelsea fought the Battle of the Atlantic by shipping vitally needed cargo to keep Britain in the war.

One would survive the conflict and be donated to the Russians. The other would be sunk with the loss of twenty four members of her crew.

This is the story of two ships christened with the name ‘Chelsea’- both commemorating the riverside London borough on the Thames and the US city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, sitting across the Mystic River from Boston.

These transatlantic links sealed and represented Great Britain and the USA as the primary and key allies fighting the Axis powers.

Gifting the destroyer ‘Chelsea’, originally an American built warship to the Russian navy recognised the equally vital role of the Soviet Union in the Allied victory- the Communists in Chelsea, London, and there were quite a lot of them in the late 1940s, were very happy about that.

While H.M.S. Chelsea survived the war and was not sunk by U-boat, she did have casualties on board and they included:

46 year old able seaman Lewis Adams who died on 1st April 1941. He was listed as ‘missing presumed killed.’

20 year old ordinary seaman William Arthur Henry Lewis who died on 6th March 1941. He was listed as ‘D.O.W.’ meaning died of wounds.

43 year old stoker 1st Class Charles Mullen who died on 9th July 1941. He was listed as ‘missing presumed killed’ by falling overboard.

21 year old able seaman Robert Richard Morgan who died on 20th January 1943. He was listed as ‘missing presumed killed.’

The S.S. (Steamship) Chelsea

‘Chelsea’ was a merchant ship powered by steam engine which had been built by the Northumberland Shipbuilding Co Ltd on Howden-on-Tyne.

With a tonnage of 4,804 tons she was first launched in November 1925 and commissioned/owned by William Brown, Atkinson & Co Ltd, Hull at Homeport in Hull.

Despite having the name of the glamorous and Bohemian Thameside borough in South West London, there is no evidence that her crews and sailings had any actual connections with Chelsea during her lifetime.

Chelsea was a merchant ship built on the Tyne and mainly sailing the world from the port of Hull. There is no evidence she sailed up the Thames to Chelsea and Chelsea’s local newspapers have no articles at all about the seagoing cargo ship bearing her name.

She was sunk by one torpedo explosion north of the Hebrides and south of the Faroe Islands while in the Convoy HX-66A in the early hours of the morning 30th August 1940.

She was sailing on a route from Montreal via Halifax (docking 16th August 1940), Methil and across the Atlantic to London, and carrying a cargo of 7,600 tons of maize.

Of a total crew of 35, there were eleven rescued. 24 souls did not survive.

Position where “S.S. Chelsea” was sunk

The German U-boat sank three ships during the attack on the convoy including S.S. Mill Hill and Norne.

Chelsea was hit amidships, and remained afloat for a while after settling by the bow, but then floundered. Her Master, Robert Harrison, was killed with 23 others. Eleven did survive when picked up by an armed trawler, landed at Scrabster in the far north of Scotland and then taken to Caithness for treatment and recovery.

The biographies of those who died reveal the vast contribution made in the Second World War by the multicultural communities which made up the Allies and then British Empire.

Many of the crew were African-Arab originating from Aden and Somaliland and some of those had been naturalised British citizens. Several were Maltese. One was Latvian.

The profiles are works in progress. We start with 59 year old Chief Engineer and Officer Ernest Aiken and 48 year old Fireman and Trimmer Salem Yousef

Both Ernest and Salem had such interesting and adventurous lives. I would have been so privileged to have met them and talked to them about their respective careers at sea.

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Salem Yousef

I am disappointed that the public record of Salem Yousef, who gave his life for the people of Great Britain so they could be supplied with food, fuel and arms during the Second World War, is so limited.

As far as I can establish, he does not even have a medal card. We do not know which part of ‘Arabia’ he came from. It might have been ‘Italian Somaliland’ or ‘Aden.’

His death records give his year of birth and age as 1892 and 48.

There are sets of Merchant Navy and military records indicating Salem Yousefs who were born in 1880 and 1893. There’s a court report from 1921 where a merchant seaman around the same age, and with the surname and forename reversed ‘Yousef Salem’ is jailed for assaulting another Arab with three other Arab seamen because the magistrates ‘could not differentiate between the men.’

His Commonwealth War Graves Commission record is minimalist and discloses no British or family connections.

But looking closely at National Archives records Yousef does have an unexplained connection with Bute Street in Cardiff. And it is a fact that in 1936, he married an Annie Bowditch in Cardiff in 1928.

And a public advertisement in the Western Mail on 22nd October 1936 reveals that he was applying to the Home Secretary for naturalisation- to be a ‘British subject’ and he was living, presumably with Annie, at 205 Bute Street Cardiff.

There is no existing trace of the house at number 205 Bute Street, Cardiff where Yousef and Annie lived. It is now a modern block precinct of shops.

There is no indication in the public records that Salem and Annie had any children. And sadly it is at this point that anything we can find out about Salem comes to an end. As a Fireman and Trimmer on S.S. Chelsea, we know what he was doing on the merchant steamship when he went down with it.

Let’s be clear, Salem had undoubtedly the toughest and dirtiest job and it was below deck in the boiler of the steamship’s engine room. As a fireman he fed the furnaces with coal to generate steam and as a trimmer he moved and leveled coal in the bunkers to ensure the steady supply for the firemen.

When a torpedo struck, particularly midships where the steamship engine and boilers were situated, his chances of survival were the least of any other member of the crew.

Arab merchant seaman often complained after the Second World War that they were the abject victims of racism, regarded as the lowest of the low, and their contribution to winning the war never recognised.

I have to say as a historian, I fully agree with this view.

There may be a racism implication in this report of a 1921 court decision which decided that a ‘Yousef Salem’ needed to go to jail with three others because the magisrates were unable to differentiate between the four Arab men on trial or perhaps were unwilling to even try. And, of course, the ‘Yousef Salem’ may not have been the ‘Salem Yousef’ who died in the S.S Chelsea sinking in 1940.

‘ARAB ROBBED BY ARABS AT TYNE DOCK.

At the South Shields Police Court, yesterday morning, Yousef Salem, 31, Abul Wahab, 23, Saib Ben Said, 23, and Ali Naser, 27, Arab firemen, were charged with being concerned in stealing £10 7s 6d from Mohamed Salem and with using personal violence towards him.

The case for the prosecution was that, on Sept. 22. Said met Salem and asked him for assistance, as he was out of work. Salem gave him food, but no money. About seven o’clock in the evening they again met, and Salem was persuaded by Said to come ashore from his ship. They walked among some timber stacks at Tyne Dock, and were joined by the three other Arabs. Said gripped Salem by the throat, and held him while the others robbed him of his money. The money had not been recovered.

Sergeant Horsefall, of the N.E.R. police, said he heard shouting, and saw the prosecutor run out from behind some timber. When he overtook him he found that his neck was badly swollen, and that there were bruises on his chest.

An engineman named James Dodd spoke to seeing the assault. With assistance he separated the men.

Mr. J.M. Smith, in defence, said that Ben Said accepted responsibility for the whole thing; the others were simply lookers-on. Under Mohammedan law a man destitute could go to another and ask assistance, and the man applied to was in duty bound to render assistance. Said claimed to have assisted Salem when he was destitute in London.

The magistrates said that they could not differentite between the men. They considered that they were all there for the same purpose. The charges would be reduced to stealing and common assault, and defendants would to prison for two months.’

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85 years after the brave and hardworking Salem Yousef died in the terrible Battle of the Atlantic, giving his life for all British people and as a British subject on their behalf, I salute him and all the other generous and hardworking men from Arab countries, and other parts of the world who made up the majority of British merchant seaman flying under the Red Ensign during the Second World War.

I send my deepest condolences through time to his grieving widow Annie in Bute Street, Cardiff, who in early September 1940 would have received the dreadful telegram that her husband was missing presumed drowned.

Mr Yousef, like all the 30,000 Merchant Seaman killed sailing under the flag above during that conflict more than deserved a special medal to recognise their sacrifice and bravery.

Spiritually, I strike a special medal for them, most likely including the outline of the British Crown, the head of King George VI, and an anchor, and I most respectfully pin it to their chests.

“فرسان البحر الشجعان” (fursan al-bahr ash-shuj’aan)”

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Ernest Aiken

There is so much more in the public records and media archives recording and commemorating the life of 59 year old Merchant Navy Officer and Chief Engineer of the S.S. Chelsea- Ernest Aiken.

As the Chief Engineer, he was the highest-ranking engineering officer, responsible for the overall operation, maintenance, and repair of all mechanical and electrical machinery aboard, including the ship’s engines.

He headed the engine room and it is most likely that is where he died with the second and third engineering officers and all the firemen and trimmers when the U-boat torpedo struck.

Ernest was born in Sunderland on 13th November 1881. His father Frederick was a storekeeper of an engine works maker and the 1881 Census records him being the baby of the family.

His parents, including his mother Alice, lived at 13 Fulwell Lane, Monk Wearmouth Shore, Sunderland along with two brothers, one also called Frederick, the other James, and three sisters- Sarah, Alice, and Ellen.

Ernest married Amelia Ross in Sunderland in 1907 and the 1911 Census gives their address as 10 Rosslyn Street living with their 2 year old daughter Vera. Ernest was 30 years old with the occupation of a ‘Marine engineer, sea going’ and Amelia was 27.

The public records show they had a son, also called Ernest, in 1912. Other sons followed- Albert and John and there may have been more children, but for some reason birth records in this district omitted the maiden name of the mother making full determination difficult.

What is for sure is that Ernest had a courageous and distinguished career in the First World War’s Battle of the Atlantic against the U-boat menace while serving as the first engineer on British merchant navy steamships.

He received the Mercantile Marine Medal with additional ribbons as well as the British War Medal. He continued his Merchant Navy service through the 1920s and 1930s rising to Chief Engineer and at the age of 59, when so many men would have been looking to retirement and a quieter life, embraced his duty to take on the risks of sailing against another U-Boat threat in the Second World War.

The huge affection, respect and love he had in his family is manifest in the public ‘Roll of Honour’ and ‘In Memoriam’ Notices commissioned by his widow Amelia, children and brothers and sisters following his death on 30th August 1940.

They dignified their grieving with heart-felt public tributes in newspapers published in Sunderland and Hull.

On 16th November 1940 the Sunderland and Daily Echo under ‘Roll of Honour’ announced:’

‘Aiken- Lost at sea through enemy action, August 30, 1940, Ernest, dearly-beloved husband of Amelia Aiken (late of 71 Hastings Street). Sadly missed by his sorrowing wife and family. Ever remembered by his brother and sister-in-law, Mr and Mrs E. Hindmarch, and family.’

On 31st August 1948, Amelia paid for the following notice to be published in the Hull Daily Mail:

‘Aiken- Treasured memories of my dear husband, Ernest, lost at sea, Aug. 30th 1940. Ever in thought- Loving wife Amelia.’

In 1946- again on the anniversary of her husband’s death Amelia published in the Hull Daily Mail: ‘Thoughts drift back to bygone days, Time moves on, but memory stays- Loving wife Amelia.’

In 1943, ‘his son and family’ declared: ‘Ernest. In loving memory of father who gave his life at sea.’

In 1947 his three children Vera, Albert and John declared: ‘Memories of my dear father lost at sea. Years are passing by, But love and memories never die.’

Amelia Aiken passed away at the Kingston General Hospital in Hull on the 14th of January 1968 at the age of 83. The funeral notice shows that Amelia and Ernest’s children and grandchilden were in attendance.

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The others who were lost [Please be aware the public records may have recorded Arab names in the wrong order]:

Fifty year old fireman and trimmer Nassa Abdo.

49 year old fireman and trimmer Nassir Abdulla.

23 year old sailor Joseph Falzon. He was the son of Francis and Mary Falzon, of Nadur, Gozo, Malta, G.C. and the brother of Salvatore also killed in the sinking.

44 year old able seaman Michael Falzon.

18 year old ordinary seaman Salvatore Falzon. He was the son of Mary Falzon, of Nadur, Gozo, Malta. The island was awarded the George Cross for the courage of its people during the Second World War.

25 year old sailor Anthony Galea. He was the son of Michele and Carmela Azzopardi, of Xaghra, Gozo, Malta, G.C.

50 year old Royal Marine DEMS gunner Frank Henry Goodchild. ‘DEMS’ stood for ‘Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship.’ This meant that the courageous and middle-aged Royal Marine Frank Goodchild was the onboard warrior trained to operate defensive guns and protect against enemy aircraft and surface threats including anti-submarine warfare.

S.S. Chelsea would not have had Asdic or depth charges, but it is likely Frank would have been responsible for a 4″ deck gun or guns at the stern, 12-pounders (3-inch shells) at the bow, and light or heavy anti-aircraft guns elsewhere. He would have been helped by training merchant navymen on board to fire the guns as well.

To say that Frank Goodchild was an heroic figure when fighting a German U-boat is something of an understatement.

28 year old carpenter Albert Goulden. He was the son of Albert E. and Hannah Goulden, of Newton Heath, Manchester. As the S.S. Chelsea’s carpenter Albert was responsible for the maintenance and repair of the ship’s wooden parts, including the hull, masts, yards, and any other wooden components, as well as ensuring watertight integrity.

38 year old third engineer officer Reginald Stanley Grimes. He was the son of George and Ann Grimes; husband of Eva Grimes, of Hull.

39 year old fireman and trimmer Habia Abdul.

34 year old donkeyman Hamed Mohamed. As the “donkeyman” on S.S. Chelsea, Hamed was responsible for operating and maintaining the “donkey engine,” a steam-powered winch used for various tasks like loading/unloading cargo, raising sails, or powering pumps.

56 year old Master Robert Harrison.

38 year old fireman and trimmer Ibrahim Sheikh Hassan .

26 year old ordinary seaman Henry Hollingsworth. He lies buried and commemorated in grave 12 of the Pierowall Old Churchyard in the United Kingdom. He was the son of Henry Edward and Agnes Hollingsworth. His CWGC headstone has the personal inscription: ‘HE GAVE HIS LIFE OUT ON THE FOAM. GREATLY MISSED BY LOVED ONES AT HOME.’

It can be presumed he was picked up by the armed rescue trawler but succumbed to exposure and/or injuries.

54 year old second engineer officer George Shaw Metcalf. He was the son of Thomas and Margaret Metcalf, and the husband of Lily May Metcalf, of Seaburn. Sunderland. Co. Durham.

40 year old fireman and trimmer Naif Ahmed.

18 year old apprentice Walter Henry Norton.

33 year old sailor Arturo Rusmanis. Arturo was Latvian and was picked up from the sea but died from exposure and/or injuries. He lies buried and commemorated in Row 3, Grave 17, of the Brinian Cemetery of the United Kingdom.

40 year old fireman and trimmer Hail Saif.

40 year old fireman and trimmer Salik Abdul Wahab.

34 year old radio officer Alexander Greg Wilson. He was the son of Robert Stewart Wilson and Elizabeth Hislop Wilson, of Glasgow. Alexnder was responsible for maintaining constant radio watch, transmitting and receiving vital messages, and ensuring the ship’s communication systems were operational. His was a critical role in radio communications during attacks such as sending distress calls or relaying instructions to other ships or authorities. It is likely he was sending out Morse Code distress signals when he went down with his ship.

50 year old cook William Laing Wood. He was the husband of Elizabeth J. Wood, of South Shields, County Durham. William, of course, was of vital importance on S.S. Chelsea because he prepared and served all the meals for the crew, ensuring they were fed and had the energy to work, He may also have been trained for basic first aid during emergencies. It was rare for a merchant steamship to have a medical officer on board and cooks often took on the first aid role.

Service on the merchant ships during the Battle of the Atlantic was perilous and extremely dangerous. Merchant sailors were low-paid, and the conditions very hard because they were usually serving on old, dirty, cold and damp ships.

Sailors on watch would rarely have enough time to change into dry clothes; particularly in stormy weather. When the weather conditions were rough one of the most common ways to die was to be washed from the deck by a wave into the ocean and never be seen again.

The war was nasty, brutish and cruel as the following observations from a BBC documentary series illustrate so poignantly:

US merchant seaman: You could hear your buddies in the water hollaring: “Save me! Save me!” but you were going by them. The ship was still in a forward motion.

German U-Boat man: I asked to come up to the coning tower to have a look at the burning tankers and because this was for a navyman who is asked to sink ships is a wonderful sight.

US merchant seaman: There was a lot of fuel on the water and gasoline burning. It sticks to yeah because it’s petroleum.

Welsh merchant seaman: I heard a cry for help. And I swam to him and his face was all black burnt. Oh he was in a terrible state.

2nd German U-Boat man: We heard shouts of “Hitler Help!” “Hitler Help!” And then something happened which I thought was terrible. Standing next to me was the U-Boat’s second officer. He yelled into the night: “Why do you pigs sail for England?” I was horrified and I gave him a jab and said: “What do you expect them to do? These people are doing their duty just as you are.”

The casualties from the 30th August 1940 U-boat sinking of S.S. Chelsea are commemorated on two steel panels of the Tower Hill Memorial near the Tower of London:

Merchant seamen having survived a U-boat sinking in the icy waters of the Atlantic by making it into a wooden lifeboat could not be sure they would ever be picked up.

It was not unknown to find floating lifeboats with dead men inside having starved to death or died through exposure. Another terrible discovery would be dead skeletal men tied together still floating in the water with their life-jackets keeping their lifeless bodies bobbing in the ocean.

Some lifejackets had illuminating lights which would last up to 12 hours. Those wearing them were often dead by the time help came.

Another familiar and forlorn sound from merchant navy men abandoned in the ocean still afloat because of their lifebelts would be their whistling for help.

Sometimes waiting in a drifting lifeboat a thousand miles away from land would be unbearable for some survivors and this was described in a BBC’s Battle of Atlantic documentary series.

US merchant seaman: Before the end of three weeks, we really realised we were in some trouble. The food was going down. And we saw all these fish swimming around with sharks. And these pilot fish would swim real close to the boat. You would just catch them in the belly and throw them into the boat. You’d probably miss fifty of them before you got one.

British merchant seaman: Your tongue, your lips were black. There were these boils all over your knees. Painful! Cause your legs were in salt water most of the time.

US merchant seaman: We would read the New Testament that we had with us. We would read that two or three times a day. Oh I think it kinda settles your mind.

This guy we had found out had been torpedoed before. And mentally he was not with it. He’d lay his money out in the boat and give a guy a five dollar bill and tell him to call a water taxi because he wanted to go ashore. And then we got into this terrible storm one night. And as we were all doing our thing, he just stood up in the middle of the boat and he jumped. He just literally jumped right out of the boat and we never saw that man again.’

The Australian War Correspondent Noel Monks who lived in Upper Cheyne Row in Chelsea in the early part of the Second World War went on special assignement in a merchant steamship to report on the Battle of the Atlantic.

In his 1956 autobiography Eye Witness recalled the agony of having to leave merchant seaman in the Atlantic Ocean who had survived being torpedoed and sinking:

‘There were explosions all around us now as we plunged relentlessly into the black Atlantic. Some were depth charges dropped by our escort. And some were other ships blowing up. I saw the fires that followed the explosions. The devil was at work on the heaving Atlantic that night.

One of the greatest hardships seamen have to endure in convoy is having to steam on and not lift a finger to help their stricken comrades. On board our ship the crew were grim and silent. Even Bert, usually full of chatter, had nothing to say. Some of their old shipmates, probably, were out there being drowned or roasted alive. There was no sleep for anyone that night, or the next two days and nights. We had been caught in the Atlantic “gap”, over which we had no air cover.’

Images of the monuments commemorating fallen Merchant Seamen in wartime at Tower Hill, London taken by Tim Crook in March 2025

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H.M.S. Chelsea

As already explained H.M.S. Chelsea started American, became British and ended up being Russian.

Built in the USA at Bath Iron Works in Maine, she was laid down on the 5th of November 1918, and launched on the 24th of July 1919

She was named USS Crowninshield (DD–134) as a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy between World War One and World War Two. She was named after Benjamin Williams Crowninshield, the United States Secretary of the Navy between 1815 and 1818, serving the administrations of Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.

She was one of the First World War US destroyers donated to British Royal Navy in 1940 in return for 99-year leases on naval and air bases in Newfoundland, Bermuda, and several Caribbean islands.

The destroyers were regarded by US navy servicemen as : ‘Ageing ships- ill-equipped to cross the Atlantic. They were the worst. Never built to sail the North Atlantic. Hull was just like a submarine- submerged most of the time. They were tin cans. No-one would ever sail in one of those things today.’

On 9th of September 1940 USS Crowninshield was decommissioned at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was delivered to the British naval authorities in the land bases as part of the destroyers exchange.

She was commissioned in the Royal Navy as H.M.S Chelsea the same day.

Chelsea reached Devonport on the 28th of September 1940.

She was assigned to the Sixth Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, Liverpool, for Atlantic convoy duty.

The first contact from H.M.S Chelsea in the Borough of Chelsea was recorded on 8th November 1940 when the front page of The West London Press and Chelsea News reported a Chelsea Borough Council meeting with the headline: ‘Greetings from H.M.S. Chelsea. Commander’s letter to Mayor.’ The paper explained:

‘…the Mayor (Lady Clare Hartnell, J.P.) stated that she had received the following letter from Commnder R.W. Pankhurst, in command of H.M.S. Chelsea:- “As you may know, one of the ex-American destroyers has been renamed Chelsea, after the Borough of Chelsea, and the town of Chelsea, Boston, Mass., U.S.. It has struck me that from the point of view of war propaganda, not to mention that of friendship, some sort of liaison between the two towns and my ship might serve a useful purpose. On my part, I can but provide a photo of the ship, to be hung in the Town Hall, but perhaps you can think up some good idea. I am writing to the Mayor of Chelsea, U.S.A., to inform him why the ship is so christened; perhaps it might give them a bit of a kick, and some interest in the war. Wishing you the best of luck in these trying times.”

Etching of Chelsea Old Church for the Ship

“I have thanked the Commander for his letter,” the Mayor said, “and stated that we shall be very proud to hang a photograph of the ship in the Town Hall. I am sending him an etching of Chelsea Old Church that I was able to acquire. I thought it would be nice to have in the ship a picture of our greatest and artistic treasure. I have also written to the Mayor of Chelsea, at Boston, and sent greetings.” (Applause.)’

The Chelsea Sea Cadet Corps received greetings from H.M.S. Chelsea in the Christmas and New Year period 1940 to 1941. The West London Press and Chelsea News reported 6th January 1941 that the Council and Cadet Corps had written to Lieutenant Commander Pankhurst in command of the American destroy, H.M.S. Chelsea, inquiring if he would lke. photograph of the members of the corpse. Lieutenant Commander Pankhurst had replid:

‘We shall be only too pleased to receive a photograph of you all nd can promise you tht a prominent place will be found for it. … It may be of interest to you to know thta H.M.S. Chelsea was the first of the ex-American destroyers on active service and has aleady had some ‘games’ with the enemy. The officers and ship’s company reciprocate your greetings and wish you every success to your corps. It is hoped that in the near future when the enemy has been placed in the position which we all wish him that we shall be able to entertain you and your corps on board.’

H.M.S. Chelsea was fighting the double-menace of submarine and air attacks on vital supplies during the Battle of the Atlantic. On the 6th of April 1941 she rescued 29 survivors of the British cargo ship S.S. Olga S. which had been bombed and sunk by Luftwaffe air attack in the Atlantic Ocean at 55°48′N 9°45′W) with the loss of four of her 33 crew.

On 6th June 1941 The West London Press and Chelsea News reported:

‘More greetings from our friends at Chelsea, Massachusetts, have been sent in a letter to the Mayor. Her worship has received a message from Chelsea Mass., which was read at the namesake town’s luncheon. It reads:- “Friends, – Democracy, in the form of Great Britain, has been cast adrift upon a sea of world chaos. For 16 months she has weathered the fury of Nazi and Fascist attack from the air, upon the sea, and from undersea craft. Now we, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, welcome the opportunity to offer ‘haven’ to the gallant British sailors through adopting the crew of H.M.S. Chelsea. We are proud that the Admiralty saw fit to rename one of the 50 American destroyers in honour of this city and her English forebears. Chelsea, Massachusetts, a cosmopolitan community of nearly 42,000 inhabitants, is an example of true democracy for the preservation of which Britain is warring to-day. Our namesake to towns committee consists of volunteers from all stations in life and represents all religious faiths. It is our fervid prayer that we may, through our actions, foster the spirit of goodwill with our brothers across the Atlantic and stimulate the H.M.S. Chelsea to greater efforts in the months to come. Bst of luck and Godspeed to you all in your efforts to aid Britain in her struggle to restore peace to a war-torn world.’

H.M.S. Chelsea was modified for trade convoy escort service by the removal of three of the original 4″/50 calibre guns and one of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of the hedgehog depth charge weapons system.

H.M.S. Chelsea joined H.M.S. Arbutus on the 5th of February 1942 to hunt for a submarine sighted from their convoy.

Two hours later Arbutus was torpedoed. H.M.S. Chelsea opened fire on the U-Boat which had surfaced and then pursued it after it dived and and made three depth charge attacks.

Contact was lost and the commander of H.M.S. Chelsea decided to return to where Arbutus had been sunk to pick up survivors.

In November 1942 H.M.S. Chelsea was allocated to the Royal Canadian Navy for service until the end of 1943.

She operated in the mid and western Atlantic Ocean escorting convoys to and from Great Britain.

She docked at Derry, Northern Ireland, on the 26th of December 1943 and was reduced to the reserve on the Tyne at the beginning of 1944.

On the 16th of July 1944 she was transferred to Russia and renamed Derzky (Дерзкий) which in English translates as ‘Insolent.’

Derzky sailed for Murmansk and was commissioned into the Northern Fleet and served as a local convoy escort for the remainder of hostilities.

In 1949 she was transferred back to the Royal Navy, but was scrapped without re-commissioning.

Royal Naval and World War Two researchers and historians have published highly detailed and impressive online profiles and records of the service of H.M.S Chelsea which provided the basis of the account in this posting, which has been augmented by reports from the West London Post and data from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

uboat.net HMS Chelsea (I 35) Destroyer of the Town class

Naval History by Gordon Smith ‘HMS, later HMCS CHELSEA (I 35), also Russian DERZKI – ex-US Destroyer including Convoy Escort Movements.’

Wikipedia USS Crowninshield

In 1950 memories of H.M.S. Chelsea constituted a report in what was now branded the Chelsea News:

‘BELLS AND BADGES

Ship’s bell and badges of H.M.S. Chelsea, one of the rechristened U.S. destroyers transferred ty America to this country for service during the war, are to be presented by the Admiralty to Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Handing over will be done by Mr. John Holmes, Naval attaché to the British Embassy at Washington, whose wife is a daughter of Lady Phipps, Mayor of Chelsea 1929-31.

Announcing the Admiralty’s gift in the American House of Representatives, the Hon. Thomas J. Lane, of Massachusetts, said the name of Chelsea was an old and honoured one. From Chelsea, England, to Chelsea, United States of America, the spirit that animated the brotherhood of free men would grow stronger through this interchange of help given in a perilous hour. From such friendshp they drew the strength and confidence that would see them through the unknown future.

Mr. Lane read aloud the war record of H.M.S. Chelsea (American name for which was U.S.S. Crowninshield) tracing its proud history in Atlantic convoy duty and rescue work.

Chelsea’s M.P., Commander Allan Noble, has written to the Mayor of Chelsea Mass., expressing pride at this “further strengthening of the link between the names of the two communities.”

He adds that when he was in Australia last year, he was able to visit Chelsea, Victoria, and he felt that they would like also to be associated with this occasion.

During the war, Cmndr. Noble was first commanding officer of H.M.S. Newport, another of the transferred U.S. destroyers.

The Mayor of Chelsea, Cllr. R.L. Edwards, has also written to his counterpart in Massachusetts expressing his pleasure at the gifts of hell and badges and assuring both his worship and the citizens of the U.S. Chelsea, the lasting friendship of the people of the borough.

A book containing the wartime achievements of the transferred destroyers will accompany the bell and badges into the archives of Chelsea, Massachusetts.’

Featured Image

A U-boat shells a merchant ship which has remained afloat after being torpedoed. Public Domain. Source: IWMCollections IWM Photo No.: MISC 51237

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Atlantic Convoys: The War at Sea UK Channel 4 Series 2009

Learning on Screen links provided.

Atlantic Convoys: The War at Sea, 18:45 30/08/2009, Channel 4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/01138AC1?bcast=33232504 (Accessed 30 Mar 2025)

Atlantic Convoys: The War at Sea, 19:00 06/09/2009, Channel 4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0115988F?bcast=33285952 (Accessed 30 Mar 2025)

Atlantic Convoys: The War at Sea, 19:00 13/09/2009, Channel 4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/01178FF0?bcast=33705960 (Accessed 30 Mar 2025)

Atlantic Convoys: The War at Sea, 19:00 20/09/2009, Channel 4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0119930D?bcast=34089582 (Accessed 30 Mar 2025)

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Special thanks to Karen White and Chris Pain whose families lived in Chelsea during World War Two, and Malachy John McCauley, also brought up in Chelsea, who have very kindly encouraged and assisted my research. Special thanks to Marja Giejgo for editorial assistance. Research and archive facilities from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council library services, The Imperial War Museum and National Archives at Kew.

If you would like to protect the history and heritage of Chelsea do consider applying to be a member of The Chelsea Society which ‘was founded in 1927 to protect the interests of all who live and work here, and to preserve and enhance the unique character of Chelsea for the public benefit.‘

I am also a great believer in the importance of local libraries for preserving the memory of community and local history. Royal Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council library services were my refuge and temples of learning when I was brought up in Chelsea. They continue to provide outstanding lending and archive services, have been invaluable in my continuing research and writing about the people of Chelsea. I give tribute to all who work in them, use them and support them.

Congratulations to The Chelsea Citizen, a dynamic new hyper-local newspaper launching in the spring 2025. Founder & Editor Rob McGibbon, Chelsea resident for 30 years and 40 years a respected and campaigning journalist. This is a significant and important development in the history of newspapers and journalism in Chelsea. Whole-hearted support from Chelsea History and Studies. Sign up for the Chelsea Citizen Newsletter.

The research and writing for this project is not funded in any way. If you would like to assist covering the costs involved, do consider making any kind of donation and/or subscribing monthly or yearly using the form below. Many thanks for your consideration.

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