For Posterity's Sake         

A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project

 

 

HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491

 

Castle Class Corvette

 

 

 

Nae Bother Ata

HMCS Orangeville K491

From the collection of Albert Abercrombie

Courtesy of Bill Abercrombie

Click on the above photo to view a larger image

 

Laid down: 23 Jul 1943

Launched: 26 Jan 1944

Transferred to the RCN: 24 Apr 1944

Commissioned: 24 Apr 1944

Paid off: 12 Apr 1946

Fate: Sold for commercial use. Final disposition unknown

 

Laid down and launched as HMS Hedingham Castle, she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned at Leith on 24 Apr 1944 as HMCS Orangeville K491. After working up at Tobermory in May she joined EG C-1 at Londonderry, leaving on 04 Jun 1944 to meet ONS.239, her first convoy. She spent the remainder of the war on North Atlantic convoy duty, leaving 'Derry for the last time on 21 Apr 1945, to escort ONS.48. After refitting at Liverpool, N.S., from May to Aug 1945, Orangeville was placed in maintenance reserve at Halifax and finally paid off on 12 Apr 1946. She was sold later that year for conversion to mercantile use under the Chinese flag and renamed Ta Tung. In 1951 she was taken over the the Nationalist Chinese government, rearmed and renamed Te-An.

 

 

Photos and Documents          Ship's company photos          Convoys escorted during WW2

 

 

Commanding Officers

 

Lt Francis Rodney Pike, RCNVR - 24 Apr 1944 - 04 Jul 1945

Lt George William Dunn, RCNVR - 05 Jul 1945 - 16 Jul 1945

A/LCdr George Alvin Powell, RCNVR - 17 Jul 1945 - 16 Oct 1945

Lt Allan Tannahill Love, RCN(R) - 08 Feb 1946 - 12 Apr 1946

 

 

     In memory of those who have crossed the bar    

They shall not be forgotten

 

 

 

Former Crew Members

 

(CC) = Commissioning Crew 24 Apr 1944    //    (SC1) = Ship's company photo, Londonderry, Ireland between Feb and Jul 1945

 

Allan, Douglas, PO, RCN, Buffer (CC) (SC1)

 

Anderson, William C. (Bill). Stoker - 24 Apr 1944 - 05 Jun 1944 (CC)

 

Baldwin, Stanley (CC)


Barclay, Garnet (CC) (SC1)


Bate, George, Lt, Doctor - Nov 1944 - Aug 1945 (SC1)


Bell, Frank (SC1)


Briggs, Ed (SC1)

 

Bush, William G. (Bill) AB LTO - 25 Apr 1944 - 15 Feb 1945


Cambridge, Allan, Stoker - 1944 - 1945 (CC) (SC1)


Chinery, Arthur (Art), A/LS - 18 Jun 1944 - 12 Aug 1945 (SC1)


Cliff, Hall (SC1)

 

Collison, Stan G., Sto 1 - Jun 1944 - Jun 1945

 

Cormack, David, Wt (E), RCNR (CC) (SC1)

 

Cornelius, Leighton (SC1) 

 

Craig, Asa (CC)


Cresswell, Ken (SC1)


Cudney, Ivan (CC) (SC1)

 

Curry, Thomas Allison, Lt, RCNR, NavO (CC) (SC1)

 

Cushing, Don (SC1)

 

Dale, Ivan (CC)

 

Darlington, Harold (CC)

 

Dettmar, Eric Samuel, Tel - 24 May 1944 - 30 Aug 1945 (SC1)

 

Douglas, Robert Alexander C., Lt, RCNVR, Ist Lt (XO) (CC)

 

Drake, Gordon (CC) (SC1)


Edgar, Ray (SC1)


Edwards, Robert N. (Bob), AB - 24 Apr 1944 - Nov 1945 (CC) (SC1)

 

Fleming, Joseph David, Sto 1 - 24 Apr 1944 - 1945 (CC) (SC1)


Galvon, Henry F. (Hank), Coder - 24 Apr 1944 - Mar 1945 (CC) (SC1)

 

Garret, Roy Percy, CPO, RCNVR, ERA3 (CC)


Gauthier, Roman (SC1)

 

Gellert, Norman Arthur, Sig - 20 Jun 1944 - 31 May 1945 (SC1)

 

Gorski, Peter, AB, ASDIC - 24 Apr 1945 - 12 Apr 1946 (CC) (SC1)

Gould, William Pierce, Lt, RCNR (CC) (SC1)

 

Graham, Gerald (Spud) (CC) (SC1)

 

Hall, Cliff - 1944


Heaton, Rolland A., Tel - 13 Oct 1944 - 25 Jul 1945 (SC1)


Humes, Henry (CC) (SC1)


Iverson, Allan (CC) (SC1)

 

Johnson, Lee (CC)

 

Judson, Malcolm (CC)

 

Judson, Winston, AB - Apr 1944 - May 1945

 

Kerr, Clifford (CC)

 

Kirstein, Fred (CC)


Klinghammer (SC1)

 

Krochenski, Stanley (CC)

 

Krouse, John (CC)

 

Laderoute, Norbert Joseph, A/Wt (E), RCNR - 16 May 1945

 

Laskarin, Joe, AB

 

Lee, William (CC) (SC1)

 

Leitch, Kenneth (CC)

 

Lepage, Nelson, Sto 1 A/S - 25 Apr 1944 - 25 Aug 1945 (CC) (SC1)

 

Little, John K., AB - 24 Apr 1944 - Jun 1945 (CC)

 

Ljuggren, Gordon (CC)


Lowe, Charly (CC) (SC1)

 

Lowe, Ronald


Lummis, Gordon (SC1)


Lummiss, Harry (CC) (SC1)

 

MacDonald, Robert L., L/Tel - 25 Apr 1944 - 08 Feb 1945

 

MacKeracher, Donald A., Lt, RCNVR, Signals Officer - 09 Mar 1944 (Stand by) / 24 Apr 1944 (CC) (SC1)

 

MacLeod, Robert (CC)

 

Malcolm Judson (SC1)


Martin, John (CC) (SC1)

 

Mason, Albert, AB - 30 May 1944 - 21 Jan 1945

 

McBeth, John (SC1)

 

McClintock, Robert (CC)


McDonald, David (CC) (SC1)

 

McGregor, Chris, Tel (T.O.) (SC1)

McNabb, Kenneth (CC) (SC1)

 

McPherson, Bruce Roffey, Slt, RCNVR - 29 Mar 1945 (SC1)

 

Meier, Max (CC)

 

Mitchell, Harold John, Sig - 26 Jul 1944 - 21 Aug 1945 (SC1)

 

Morris, Albert (CC)

 

Morris, Stan (SC1)


Murphy, John (Jack) (CC) (SC1)


Pare, Leo (SC1)

 

Peeble, James Arthur, A/Lt (E), RCNVR - 16 Jun 1945

 

Perry, Gordon - Apr 1944 - Feb 1945

 

Pirie, Neil John, PO E.A. 4 / CPO E.A. 3 - 24 Apr 1944 - Aug 1945 (CC)

 

Playfair, Peter Ferris, Surg-Lt - Aug 1944 - Oct 1944

 

Porteous, Alvin, PO, RCNVR, LTO (CC) (SC1)

 

Roberts, James, SPO - Jun 1944 - 25 Oct 1945


Robinson, James Victor - AA3 Gunner, 1944-1945


Rothery, William, Chief Stoker, RCN (CC) (SC1)

 

Shaw, Donald (CC)

 

Small, F.A.


Smith, W.D. (SC1)


Steen (SC1)

 

Stiles, Edward (Doc), SBA - 24 Apr 1944 - Sep 1945 (CC)


Taylor, Allan (SC1)

 

Thomson, Robert, Sig

 

Thorpe, Jack 

 

Tkach, John (CC) (SC1)


Tuckey, Kenneth (CC) (SC1)

 

Twist, William G. (Bill), CERA 4c - 26 Jul 1944 - 31 May 1945 (SC1)


Underhill (SC1)

 

Wade, James (CC)

 

Weed, Ralph (CC)

 

Watkins, Robert A., A/LS - Oct 1945 - Dec 1945


Watson, James, AB - 23 Jun 1944 - 21 Feb 1945

 

Wilkinson, Hugh Malcolm, Slt (El) (R), RCNVR - Jan 1945

 

 

 

Photos and Documents

 

Dignitaries at the launching of HMCS Orangeville at the Leigh Shipyards, Scotland

Top photo: Lady Darling (2nd from left), with shipbuilder Henry Robb (2nd from right)

From the collection of Donald Muir.  Donald was a carpentry foreman at the Leith Shipyard when Orangeville was built.

Courtesy of Fiona Bremner

Commissioning 1944 Leith, Scotland. Photo Caption reads: " Lady Darling, flanked by ship's builder Henry Robb and Lt. Rodney Pike, Holding newly carved ship's crest at commissioning ceremony in Leith, Scotland, 1944", Photo taken from the supplement to the Orangeville Citizen of June 8th, 1988. celebrating the Ship' Crew 1988 Reunion.

From the collection of Albert Abercrombie

Courtesy of Bill Abercrombie

Christmas Day 1944 at sea on HMCS Orangeville - Cooks Mike Guerin (left) and Ivan McCabe

Courtesy of John Hawley

The Skipper takes it easy between watches

Photo taken from June 1988 HMCS Orangeville reunion newspaper- a supplement to the Orangeville Citizen of June 8th, 1988.

From the collection of Albert Abercrombie

Courtesy of Bill Abercrombie

Ship's Mascot - PING the cat. 

Photo taken from the supplement to the Orangeville Citizen of June 8th, 1988. celebrating the Ship' Crew 1988 Reunion. Photo originally came from photo of ship's crew taken at Londonderry and in the arms of Bob Edwards according to that photo's photo key.

From the collection of Albert Abercrombie

Courtesy of Bill Abercrombie

O/S Leighton Cornelius, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Cornelius, East Garafraxa, formerly of Orangeville, who is serving aboard the corvette HMCS Orangeville. O/S Cornelius, 18 years old, joined the RCN on July 10, 1944 , trained at HMCS York, Toronto and Cornwallis Nova Scotia, was transferred to HMCS Avalon, St. Hohn;s Newfoundland, and subsequently to the Orangeville." Photo taken from the supplement to the Orangeville Citizen of June 8th, 1988. celebrating the Ship' Crew 1988 Reunion.

From the collection of Albert Abercrombie

Courtesy of Bill Abercrombie

 

TC04

TC05

TC06

TC07

(TC04) Ken Tuckey (left), unknown and Tom Coyle (right)  (TC05) Tom Coyle (left) - and 2 unknown friends  (TC06) Ken Tuckey  (TC07) "Jeep" Smith

 

TC08

TC09

TC10

TC11

TC12

(TC08) Tom Coyle (left) and Al Cambridge on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC09) Tom Coyle on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC10) Ken Tuckey and unknown shipmate on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC11) Tom Coyle (left) and Ken Tuckey on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC12) Ken Tuckey (left) and Tom Coyle on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491

 

(TC13)

(TC13) "Off Watch Black Gang"

 

TC14

TC15

TC16

TC17

TC18

(TC14) "3 Peggies" - L-R: unknown, Tom Coyle and Ken Tuckey (TC15) "Spud Party" - Tom Coyle peeling potatoes on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC16) Ken Tuckey (right) and unknown shipmate on HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC17) Unknown CPO on the helm of HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC18) "Al and Bates - a couple of good heads" (note: Bates is Lt George Bate, HMCS ORANGEVILLE'S doctor)

 

TC19

TC20

TC21

TC22

(TC19) Crew looking at bi-plane as it flies past HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491 (TC20) Bridge, gun deck and fo'c's'le of HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491.  HMCS AMHERST K148 and HMCS PORT HOPE J280 tied up forward of her  (TC21) After gun tubs and quarterdeck of HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491. Unknown Flower Class corvette outboard  (TC22) HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491

 

TC23

(TC23) "Four of Little Navy"

L-R: unknown, unknown, Ken Tuckey and Tom Coyle

 

TC24

TC25

TC26

TC27

TC28

(TC24) HMCS CHAMBLY K116  (TC25) HMCS CHEBOGUE K317 with her stern block off after being hit by an acoustic torpedo. Photo taken from HMCS CHAMBLY K116 as she was preparing to tow HMCS CHEBOGUE K317  (TC26) HMCS NEW GLASGOW K320  (TC27) HMCS FRONTENAC K335  (TC28) HMCS ARNPRIOR K494

 

TC29

TC30

TC31

TC32

TC33

(TC29) HMCS HESPELER K489 arriving at St. John's, NFLD  (TC30) Ships in Derry.  HMS BRAITHWAITE K468 and HMS LOCH DUNVEGAN K425 tied up astern of HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491  (TC31) Canadian ships in Derry  (TC32) HMS/m P252 - HMS SUPREME  (TC33) "Russian sub-chasers in Newfi" - Soviet sub-chasers SC1491 and SC1478

 

Historical note:  (1) HMS Supreme was built by Cammell Laird and launched on 24 February 1944. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Supreme. She survived the Second World War, spending most of it in the Pacific Far East, where she sank thirteen Japanese sailing vessels, six Japanese coasters, a Japanese tug and a barge, and a small unidentified Japanese vessel. Supreme also attacked what is thought to be a Japanese auxiliary patrol vessel.[4] Supreme was eventually paid off and broken up at Troon in July 1950.

 

Historical Note: (2) SC-1478 and SC-1491 were USN sub-chasers.  They were transferred to the USSR  02 Sep 1944 and 30 Aug 1944 respectively

 

 

TC34

TC35

(TC34) HMCS ORANGEVILLE K491 conducting "Forward Sweep in Convoy"  (TC35) MS GRIPSHOLM

 

Historical note: (3) MS Gripsholm was an ocean liner, built in 1924 by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, for the Swedish American Line for use in the Gothenburg-New York City run. She was of great historical importance as the first ship built for transatlantic express service as a diesel-powered motor vessel, rather than as a steamship. From 1942 to 1946, the United States Department of State chartered Gripsholm as an exchange and repatriation ship, carrying Japanese and German nationals to exchange points where she then picked up US and Canadian citizens (and British married to Americans or Canadians) to bring home to the USA and Canada. In this service she sailed under the auspices of the International Red Cross, with a Swedish captain and crew. The ship made 12 round trips, carrying a total of 27,712 repatriates. Exchanges took place at neutral ports; at Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) in Mozambique or Mormugoa (now Goa) in Portuguese India with the Japanese, and Stockholm or Lisbon with the Germans. After the war, Gripsholm was used to deport inmates of US prisons to Italy and Greece.

 

From the collection of Tom Coyle, Sto 1c, RCNVR

 

Courtesy of Elaine Desnoyers

 

A Commemorative Copy of "Etchings in Salt" April 1945

 

         

 

From the collection of Albert Abercrombie

Courtesy of Bill Abercrombie

 

 

Convoys escorted during WW2

 

Convoy Desig.

Convoy Departs from

Arrives at

Join as escort

Depart Convoy 

ON.239

Liverpool (03 Jun 1944)

New York City (22 Jun 1944) 

04 Jun 1944

15 Jun 1944

HX.296

New York City (19 June 1944)

Liverpool (03 Jul 1944)

24 Jun 1944

02 Jul 1944

ON.244

Liverpool (10 Jul 1944)

New York City (23 Jul 1944)

11 Jul 1944

18 Jul 1944

HX.301

New York City (25 Jul 1944)

Liverpool (08 Aug 1944)

31 Jul 1944

08 Aug 1944

ONS.33

Liverpool (29 Sep 1944)

Halifax (14 Oct 1944)

30 Sep 1944

10 Oct 1944

HX.314

New York City (15 Oct 1944)

Liverpool (29 Oct 1944)

20 Oct 1944

29 Oct 1944

ON.265

Southend (08 Nov 1944)

New York City (23 Nov 1944)

10 Nov 1944

19 Nov 1944

HX.322

New York City (24 Nov 1944)

Liverpool (08 Dec 1944)

29 Nov 1944

07 Dec 1944

ON.273

Southend (18 Dec 1944)

New York City (04 Jan 1945)

19 Dec 1945

30 Dec 1945

HX.330

New York City (03 Jan 1945)

Liverpool (17 Jan 1945)

07 Jan 1945

17 Jan 1945

ONS.41

Liverpool (29 Jan 1945)

Halifax (30 Jan 1945)

30 Jan 1945

15 Feb 1945

HX.339

New York City (18 Feb 1945)

Liverpool (03 Mar 1945)

23 Feb 1945

03 Mar 1945

ONS.44

Liverpool (12 Mar 1945)

Halifax (31 Mar 1945)

12 Mar 1945

27 Mar 1945

HX.347

New York City (29 Mar 1945)

Liverpool (14 Apr 1945)

03 Apr 1945

14 Apr 1945

ONS.48

Liverpool (21 Apr 1945)

Halifax (04 May 1945)

21 Apr 1945

03 May 1945

 

 

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