V & W Class destroyers
HMS
Venomous was
one of sixty-nine V & W Class destroyers built at the end
of the ‘Great War’. At the time they were the most advanced destroyers
in the
world, and arguably the most successful ever built. Although outdated
by 1939
they were invaluable during World War II but those which survived
the war went to the
breakers’ yards soon after it ended.
A Hard
Fought Ship is
possibly the most detailed study yet of the contribution made by a
typical “old
warrior” of the V & W Class to winning the war with end notes and
citations
plus a list of its officers from 1919-46 and of those ratings whose
names are
known. It begins
with a comparative survey of the world’s destroyers in 1919 and ends
with a
list of all the V & Ws giving date of construction and ultimate
fate.
The V & W Association
Within
thirty years of the first V & W being launched not one remained
afloat but
during that time countless thousands of men served on them and in 1993
the V
& W Destroyer Association was formed to keep former “shipmates” in
touch
with each other. The Association has HRH The Duke of Edinburgh as its
Patron,
publishes a magazine, Hard Lying,
and meets at least once a year. Last year's reunion was at Derby on the
9 - 11 April.
Looking forward - Looking back
Fred Thomas, RDF operator on HMS Venomous in
1942-3 (left) and at
Derby in 2010 (right)
Membership of the V & W Association
The V & W Association provides a friendly welcome to former
shipmates on V & W Class destroyers. There are eighty
members and the family of those who served on V & W destroyers
are eligible to
join as
Associate Members. If
you would like to meet men who served with your father or grandfather
on a V & W Class destroyer why not join the V & W Association?
Members receive the magazine, Hard
Lying, plus a Newsletter. The annual subscription is £6.
To join the V & W
Association apply to:
David Brown, Treasurer
117 Broadfield, Harlow, Essex CM20 3PX
Telephone: 01279-436534
The 2012 Reunion of the V & W
Association
The
annual meeting
of the Association is both a reunion of old shipmates and a pleasent
social event in a nice part of the country for members, wives and their
guests. This
year's reunion will take place
at Sheringham from Friday 27 - Monday 30 April 2012. It includes
three nights accommodation at the Burlington Hotel in Sheringham plus breakfast
and dinner, the Reunion Dinner on the Saturday and a mystery coach tour on the Sunday. The all inclusive cost is £175 per person. Bookings should be made direct with the hotel:
The Burlington Hotel, 1 The Esplanade, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8LG. Phone: 01263 822224
David Brown, Treasurer of the Association, reports below on last year's Reunion at Weston super Mare:
"The
Reunion was attended by 43 members, wives and guests. Regrettably
our President and Chairman, Clifford Fairweather (known by all as
"Stormy") and his wife Vivienne were unable to attend because Cliff was
not too well and our Hon. Secretary, John Appleby, whilst attending,
was somewhat restricted having fallen a week or so before fracturing
his shoulder. The weather was fine and the coach outing on Sunday 10th
April to Wells was enjoyed by all who participated. Details of a
possible Weekend Reunion for 2012 are still to be finalised."
The
present members of
the V & W Association served on the following V&Ws during World
War II:
HMS
Vanessa
HMS Vivian
HMS Witherington
HMS Vanity
HMS Wakeful
HMS Wivern
HMS Vanoc
HMS Warwick
HMS Wolfhound
HMS Velox
HMS Watchman
HMS
Wolverine
HMS Venomous
HMS Westcott
HMS Wryneck
HMS Verdun
HMS Westminster
HMS Versatile
HMS Whitshed
HMS Veteran
HMS Winchelsea
HMS Vidette
HMS Winchester
HMS Vivacious
HMS Windsor
Clifford Fairweather, Chairman
and Editor of Hard Lying
can be contacted by e-mail.
Crossed the bar
Shipmate John S. Appleby,
the Honorary Secretary of the V & W Association,
died on the 30 August aged 86. He was born at Colchester on the 29
March 1925 and lived there all
his life with the exception of his wartime service in the Royal Navy.
In 1943 he served as
an OD on HMS Wivern on east coast convoys before being sent for officer training. He served on a second V & W class destroyer, HMS Vivien, as midshipman (on left) and was then posted to a fast patrol boat for Operation Overlord. He joined the escort carrier, HMS Nairana,
as part of the 2nd Escort Group (after the death of its charismatic
leader, Captain "Johnnie" Walker) on Atlantic and Arctic convoys. He
was a signals and coding specialist on the aircraft carrier, HMS Khedive, on its way to the East Indies. After a brief period at HMS Lanka, the shore base in Colombo, he was posted to HMS Tengra,
the combined operations base at Mandapam, India, where he served on HMS Fiery Cross, a 249 ton converted Norwegian whaler, on secret missions to check out beaches for Operation Zipper, the planned seaborne asault on Japanese held Malaya.
He
left the Royal Navy in 1947, returned to Colchester and married Audrey
Grace Fookes. He trained as a teacher and by 1969 was Head Teacher at a
primary school and retired in 1986. He had always been interested in
printing and after the war ran a small printing business to supplement
his income as a teacher. His wife pre-deceased him in 1993
but they had four sons, Roger, Andrew, Nigel and David. In
later life he was ordained as
a Minister and was much in demand at naval functions and at funerals of
naval officers. In addition to being Secretary of the V & W
Association he was branch secretary of the Russian Convoy Club
and chaplain to both the Burma Star Association and the Merchant Navy
Association. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, took
a keen interest in the history of Colchester and
made an important contribution to the appendix on "Life aboard HMS Venomous" in the new edition of A Hard Fought Ship.
John
Appleby and the Chairman of the Association, Clifford Fairweather, were
very different but they complimented each other and held the V & W
Association together despite its declining numbers.
Find out about
TS Venomous
and the other Sea Cadet Corps units named after V & W Class
destroyers
