Between October 1941 and the end of
March 1942, Warships Weeks were organised in cities, towns and villages
throughout Great Britain. The intention was to raise a sum by
investment or deposit in all types of war savings representing the cost
of building one of His Majesty’s ships ranging from the smallest to the
largest vessels. Once the target had been raised the community adopted
the vessel along with its crew and the bond was strengthened by
presentations in recognition of the money raised. Adoption plaques were
presented by the Admiralty to the community and a plaque presented by
the community to the adopted vessel. Links were maintained by the
writing of letters and the provision of comforts and whenever possible
visits were arranged to the adopting area.
Most of the V&W Class
destroyers in commission with the Royal Navy were adopted during the
Warship Week scheme and in a number of cases local sea cadet units
later took the name of the ship. To
find more about Warship Weeks see Peter Schofield’s article on‘National Savings and Warship Weeks’.
**************
Barry - and Barry Island
Barry is nine miles south west of Cardiff on the Bristol Channel. It
was no more than village on Barry Island with a population of
about a hundred until the building of the docks in the 1880s. The Barry
Railway brought coal from the South Wales Valleys to the new docks
whose trade grew from one million tons to over nine million tons by
1903. The port was crowded with ships and had flourishing ship repair
yards, cold stores, flour mills and an ice factory. By 1913, Barry was
the largest coal exporting port in the world. The Railways also helped
make Barry Island a popular resort. Until the building of the docks
Barry was an island separated from the mainland by a tidal estuary but
is is now on a peninsula. Barry had a population of 50,000 in 2011.
Aerial view of Barry, Glamorgan, South Wales Copyright David Goddard
Western Mail and South Wales News
Thursday, 4 December 1941
Warships Week at Barry would have
received extensive coverage in local papers and in Cardiff but, sadly,
these papers have not been added to the nationally available Newspaper
Archive and this advertisement is the only item I have found. I am
hoping that local historians will search back runs of local papers for
the period from 29 November to 6 December 1941 and send me scans or
photocopies of articles about Warship Week in Barry and the adoption of
HMS Vanessa.
And
the good news below will be reported in local papers and yield new
stories about the events held during Warships Week and the links
between the people of Barry and the men who served in their adopted
warship.
Barry Warships Week raised £214,825
I was sent these photographs of the brass plate commmemorating the adoption of HMS Vanessa by Barry and the colourful crest of the ship plus the Plaque presented by Barry to HMS Vanessa by Emily Forbes, the Town Clerk. They were discovered at HMS Cambria, the Royal Navy Reserve Unit at Barry in Spring 2020 and transferred to Barry Council for safe keeping.
The inscribed brass plate and an
iron replica of the ship's crest with a bronze "Nelson's Crown" above
was mounted on a wooden shield when it was presented to the town by the
Admiralty. The inscribed brass plate and the butterfly crest have been
removed from the shield which is assumed to have been lost. The crest should measure 388 x 248 mm (just over 15 inches high by nearly 10 inches across) if authentic. The Council are planning to put them on public display in the foyer of the Town Hall.
Vale of Glamorgan Archives
Glamorgan Archives have a folder,
Reference BB/C/8/252, containing one hundred pages of documents about
Warships Week and the adoption of HMS Vanessa
by Barry. The Archive is closed to the public due to the Corona
pandemic but arrangements could be made to have these documents
scanned. I am hoping that an individual or organisation will cover the
cost of this or make notes and take copies when the Archive re-opens
and provide further details for this web page and, perhaps, a leaflet
for display alongside the crest in the Town Hall.
"The file mainly
contains the Council’s correspondence regarding the setting up and
administration of the Warships Week and the subsequent adoption of the
ship by the town of Barry, including forming a committee in 1941,
organising a parade in November 1941, arranging the design of the
plaque to mark the adoption and organising the public meeting for an
exchange of plaques with the ship in September 1942. The file
also contains a list of names and addresses of the National Savings
Committee and Group Secretaries in Barry. It also has a few mentions of
the decommissioning of the ship and return of the plaque from the ship
to the town in the 1950s (this plaque was to be hung in the Council
Chamber). Much of the correspondence deals with the administration of
meetings and events and does not go into much detail. In some
cases you would probably find out more information in local newspapers."
Glamorgan Archives would provide
scans of the entire contents for £60, significantly less than their
standard fee of £2 per scan. For futher details e-mail: Glamro /
Swyddfa Cofnodion Morgannwg <Glamro@cardiff.gov.uk>
If
you want to find out more about the wartime service of a member of your
family who served on HMS Vanessa
you should first obtain a copy of their service record To
find out how follow this link:
http://www.holywellhousepublishing.co.uk/servicerecords.html
If
you have stories or photographs of HMS Vanessa you would like to
contribute to the web site please contact Bill Forster
Return
to the Home Page for HMS Vanessa Return to the Home Page of the V & W Destroyer Association Return to the Index Page for the 69
V & W Class Destroyers
Return to the Home Page for Warship Weeks
