Charybdis and Limbourne sailed with five other ships. Their crews shared the danger, returned to help survivors, and carried the memory home. All belong in this story.
Charybdis was the cruiser and flagship. Grenville and Rocket were fleet destroyers; Limbourne, Talybont, Stevenstone and Wensleydale were smaller Hunt Type III escort destroyers. Together they left Plymouth to intercept German shipping near the north Brittany coast.
The Admiralty’s account describes ships with different capabilities and limited opportunities to train together. After the torpedo attack broke up the formation and disabled its leader, the surviving ships had to regroup, search and rescue in darkness.
Admiralty Battle Summary No. 31, sections 1–6Sunlight breaks through clouds over Plymouth Sound, with the breakwater, lighthouse and a modern Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship visible. Photographed in 2009.
Charybdis led the sortie under Captain George Voelcker. Torpedo hits disabled the cruiser and severed the force’s command. Her sinking left men struggling in the water as the surviving destroyers searched for them.
Charybdis seen from the port bow in her wartime camouflage, with sailors on deck. The source dates this Royal Navy photograph to 1942.
Stevenstone replaced Melbreak before departure. These are the seven ships that sailed, as recorded in the Admiralty account. Photographs have their own dates and do not depict the night action.
Reports describe ships turning back. Personal accounts bring us closer to the men doing the work.
Ernie Moseley recalled lowering a bucket on a rope to a man too exhausted to climb aboard Wensleydale. Fifty-one years later, he met that survivor, Gerald Evens, again; the two became friends.
Ernie Moseley’s recollection, recorded in David Allen’s HMS Wensleydale history.Read Ernie Moseley’s profile Read Gerald Evens’s profilePetty Officers Johnson and Guy stayed in the water on lifelines, helping men too exhausted to save themselves. David Allen’s history names them as James Aster Johnson and Stan Guy.
Wensleydale’s report, reproduced in the Association history; given names and portraits in David Allen’s account.Read James Aster Johnson’s profile Read Stan Guy’s profileSailors sing carols aboard HMS Stevenstone. Lieutenant P. W. Reid plays the harmonium while the Reverend C. G. Gardner conducts.
Convoys, patrols, training, friendships and the ordinary work of keeping a ship at sea: every company had a life beyond this operation. The photographs and letters that survive help us remember those wider lives.
Reg Young’s letters recall daily life aboard Wensleydale. He left following an injury on 21 October 1943, before the final operation. His memories belong to her earlier service.
Read Reg Young’s letters Explore film, photographs and family accountsExplore the deeper histories of Charybdis and Limbourne and the individual records of their crews.
Letters, photographs and recollections can help preserve the wider story of the force. Share the ship’s name and the source so we can review the connection.
Contribute to the shared history