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HMS Orwell (G98) (The Second of three Orwell’s)
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My Dad, Kenneth Rushton, was in the Royal Navy from 1942 to 1946 and served on the HMS Orwell most of the time. He marched in the victory parade in Burma in an absolute downpour. My Dad said he was topside at his gun station as the flotilla raced in to head off Hipper. He said he saw Onslow heavily hit by Hipper's 8-inch guns, and he "was sure he was next." Dad was also a Pom Pom (rapid-fire anti-aircraft gun) loader
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Kenneth Rushton
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HMS Orwell was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that entered service in 1942. She saw action at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and was involved in convoy escort duties during the Battle of North Cape. In 1952 she was converted to a Type 16 frigate and was broken-up in June 1965. The ship was launched on 2nd April 1942 and was completed on 17th October that year. Build cost was 410,872 (English pounds) excluding Admiralty supplied items such as weapons and communications equipment. This ship was fitted for use as a minelayer if required and was adopted by the civil community of Ipswich, Suffolk following a successful "WARSHIP WEEK” National Savings Campaign in March 1942
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Badge: On a field white, a seahorse proper holding between the feet a roundel barry wavy blue and gold
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A selection of pictures of the HMS Orwell and her crew during World War II some provided by Greg Knowles and Jeanette Jones
Contact website for old comrades and much more.
HMS Orwell
At least three ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Orwell: The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service).
- The first Orwell was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer launched in 1901.
- The second Orwell was an O-class destroyer launched in 1942 and later converted to a Type 16 frigate.
- The third HMS Orwell (M1219) was a River class minesweeper launched in 1985.
There are two books that prominently feature HMS Orwell.
Heart of Oak, which is a memoir of Tristen Jones, a matlot who served on an O-class destroyer in Orwell's flotilla. Remarkably, he also served on a cruiser in the Pacific at the end of the war, just like my dad, Kenneth Rushton. http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Oak-Tristan-Jones/dp/1574090194
Dudly Pope's 73 North is the definitive account of the Battle of the Barents Sea, in which the tiny destroyers of a Arctic convoy escort (including Orwell) fought off the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and the "pocket battleship" Lutzo, even though they were hopelessly outclassed. The destroyers saved the convoy, fighting in a violent gale in sub-freezing conditions on New Year's Eve. http://www.amazon.com/73-North-Battle-Barents-Sea/dp/1590131029
Wikipedia link to the battle of the Barents Sea., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Barents_Sea
Greg Knowles sent an article he wrote about his dad’s experiences, Reginald Thomas William Knowles
Order an original picture of the HMS Orwell.
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Click on thumbnail for larger view & more information.
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