Roy Pelling survived the loss of HMS Limbourne on 23 October 1943 and continued his Royal Navy service. His recorded service runs from 12 January 1943 to 24 October 1946.
Roy Pelling survived the loss of HMS Limbourne on 23 October 1943. His family explicitly confirms his survival, and the Navy Search reconstruction records further naval service immediately after the sinking.
He is recorded in Limbourne as a Stoker 2nd Class from 15 May to 23 October 1943, under official number KX 164423. HMS Drake follows on 24–25 October, then HMS Victory from 26 October to 18 November.
Stokers belonged to the engineering branch, operating and maintaining a steam warship’s machinery. Roy’s rating is documented; his precise action station, individual rescue circumstances and the ship that took him off have not been established.
HMS Pyramus appears from 19 November 1943 to 25 September 1944. The rating changes to Acting Stoker 1st Class on 12 January 1944. That later rating should not replace his recorded Stoker 2nd Class rating aboard Limbourne.
The record then includes HMS Victory, passage and travelling entries, HMS Saker and HMCS Hochelaga, before LST 3501 from 9 December 1944. The continuation records more service in LST 3501 and HMS Braganza during 1945. Its LST 3501 entry from 16 July 1945 to 26 June 1946 gives Stoker 1st Class.
HMS Bambara is recorded from 27 June 1946, followed by a partly undated Victory entry, HMS Formidable from 7 to 25 July, and HMS Victory from 26 July to 24 October. A separate statement confirms that Roy was released to shore on 24 October 1946.
India: HMS Braganza appears in the continuation from 9 July 1945. A Bombay connection is likely: the Royal Navy Research Archive places Braganza III there, but Roy’s record does not supply that suffix. The precise establishment identification remains provisional. A shore posting may also be an accounting or drafting entry rather than a complete record of physical movements.
Ceylon, now Sri Lanka: the record’s HMS Bambara entry begins on 27 June 1946. The Sri Lanka Air Force identifies Bambara at China Bay, Trincomalee, and Royal Museums Greenwich also locates it in Ceylon. This establishes an additional overseas naval connection, but does not identify the temple in Roy’s photograph.
Italy: the family’s working biography reports the Italy Star. That entitlement still needs checking against a clear medal record. Even a confirmed Italy Star would not establish that Roy went ashore in Italy: Royal Navy qualification included operational service afloat, and the award covered several areas. A specific Italian port or visit is therefore unconfirmed.
The family’s working biography reports approximately three years of later service in the Royal Australian Navy. This remains an attributed family account: an Australian service file has not yet established the dates, official number, ships or establishments.
Roy’s recorded wartime service in LST 3501 should not, by itself, be treated as proof of later Royal Australian Navy service.
Roy Pelling survived the loss of HMS Limbourne on 23 October 1943. Family confirmation is supported by the Navy Search ledger reconstruction, which records further service from 24 October 1943 through release on 24 October 1946.
Survival is confirmed by the family and supported by continued service after Limbourne’s loss. Navy Search supplies the official number, ratings and postings through 1946, with unresolved transcription cells marked below. No named survivor return or individual rescue account has yet been matched to Roy. The restored photographs are presentation versions, not evidence for original colours, precise places or lettering. Later Australian naval service and the Italy Star are attributed to the family biography pending independent confirmation.
Family-held reconstruction from Payment and Victual ledgers. The continuation reaches release on 24 October 1946; missing and unclear cells are marked in the service table.
Historical context for the Bombay establishment; this account names Braganza III, while Roy’s record says Braganza without a suffix. The precise identification remains provisional.
The register is a growing collection of sourced records. It is not a verified list of everyone aboard on the final night.
Photographs & provenance
Service photographs.
People · Date and location unconfirmed
Roy Pelling: overseas service photograph
Roy Pelling, identified by his family, in tropical clothing beside a temple. Restored and colourized; the precise location and date have not been established.
The Navy Search reconstruction covers 12 January 1943 to 24 October 1946. It was compiled from Payment and Victual ledgers because Roy’s original individual service record was not found. The 19 earlier entries are preserved below, followed by eight rows from the continuation page. These are recorded assignments, ratings and travel entries, not a day-by-day itinerary.
Ship / establishment
Rating
From
To
HMS Duke (Blake Division)
Stoker 2nd Class
12 Jan 1943
17 Feb 1943
HMS Victory
Stoker 2nd Class
18 Feb 1943
19 Apr 1943
HMS Drake
Stoker 2nd Class
20 Apr 1943
22 Apr 1943
HMS Victory
Stoker 2nd Class
23 Apr 1943
03 May 1943
HMS Sultan
Stoker 2nd Class
04 May 1943
12 May 1943
HMS Victory
Stoker 2nd Class
13 May 1943
13 May 1943
Passage
Stoker 2nd Class
14 May 1943
14 May 1943
HMS Limbourne
Stoker 2nd Class
15 May 1943
23 Oct 1943
HMS Drake
Stoker 2nd Class
24 Oct 1943
25 Oct 1943
HMS Victory
Stoker 2nd Class
26 Oct 1943
18 Nov 1943
HMS Pyramus
Stoker 2nd Class
19 Nov 1943
11 Jan 1944
HMS Pyramus
Acting Stoker 1st Class
12 Jan 1944
25 Sep 1944
HMS Victory
Acting Stoker 1st Class
26 Sep 1944
15 Nov 1944
Passage
Acting Stoker 1st Class
16 Nov 1944
25 Nov 1944
HMS Saker
Acting Stoker 1st Class
26 Nov 1944
26 Nov 1944
Travelling
Acting Stoker 1st Class
27 Nov 1944
27 Nov 1944
HMCS Hochelaga
Acting Stoker 1st Class
28 Nov 1944
06 Dec 1944
Travelling
Acting Stoker 1st Class
07 Dec 1944
08 Dec 1944
LST 3501
Acting Stoker 1st Class
09 Dec 1944
25 Mar 1945
[Entry name unclear]
Acting Stoker 1st Class
26 Mar 1945
27 Mar 1945
LST 3501
Acting Stoker 1st Class
28 Mar 1945
08 Jul 1945
HMS Braganza
Acting Stoker 1st Class
09 Jul 1945
Jul 1945 [day unclear]
LST 3501
Stoker 1st Class
16 Jul 1945
26 Jun 1946
HMS Bambara
Stoker 1st Class
27 Jun 1946
No dates recorded
HMS Victory
Stoker 1st Class
No dates recorded
06 Jul 1946
HMS Formidable
Stoker 1st Class
07 Jul 1946
25 Jul 1946
HMS Victory
Stoker [class unclear in this entry]
26 Jul 1946
24 Oct 1946
The continuation is transcribed from the available document text. The entry name for 26–27 March 1945, the exact day of the Braganza end date, and the class in the final Victory row are unclear and have not been guessed. Bambara’s end date and the following Victory start date are recorded as “No dates recorded”. Roy’s release to shore is explicitly dated 24 October 1946.
A correction, a remembered story or a document reference can help deepen this account. Contributions from families, survivors and researchers are reviewed before publication, with private contact details kept separate from the public record.