HMS Cavalier

In 1943, HMS Cavalier was laid down as one of 96 emergency destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy, during the second world war.  She was built at J S White & Co's shipyard on the Isle of Wight being launched and commisioned in November 1944, joining the Home Fleet's 6th Destroyer flotilla.

In early 1945 she served on a number of operations including; escorting and artic convoy and three operations off Norway.   Because of her high speed she was also selected to escort RMS Queen ELizabeth and RMS Queen Mary (at the time the largest ocean liners in the world) which had been converted to troop ships.  Both liners were capable of carrying up to 15,000 troops each and could steam at 30+ knots with orders not to slow down or stop.  Because of the speed Cavalier had to maintain (as part of the escort group) conditions for sailors on board were extremely uncomfortable.

The war in Europe finished in May 1945 and Cavalier, along with the other destroyers of the 6th flotilla, was allocated to Western Approaches command, being based on the Clyde.  Following a brief reftit which was completed in August 1945 - after the war with Japan had ended - Cavalier found herself in The East Indies, again as part of the 6th destroyer flotilla.  Returning to the UK in June 1946, Cavalier became part of the reserve fleet which numbered over 400 vessels.

From 1955 to 1957 Cavalier was refitted and modernised at Portsmouth and Thornycroft's Southampton.  The primary changes were fitting of remote power control and updated fire control to her guns,  replacing the after torpedo tubes with a deckhouse complete with two Squid anti-submarine mortars and a twin Mk 5 Bofors gun.  In July 1957 Cavalier joined the 8th Destroyer squadron in Singapore.

In the mid 1960's, she was further modernised with the fitting of the Seacat anti-aircraft missile system and she did not undergo any further significant alterations during the rest of her service career.

Decommissioned in 1972, Cavalier's fate was uncertain until in 1977, Earl Mountbatten established the first HMS Cavalier Trust to preserve the ship and save her from scrapping.   Bought for £65,000, Cavalier was towed from Chatham to Portsmouth where she was formally handed over to the Trust and from there moving to Southampton where it was intended she become a floating museum dedicated to the destroyers and men lost in battle during World War II.  Opened to the public in August 1982 she was later sold to become the centra piece of Brighton's new marina.  In 1987 she moved to Hebburn (Tyneside) where she was to be part of a new museum celebrating the areas long ship building history and association with the Navy . Unfortunately funds could not be found to realise this ambition and she ended up deteriorating for years in a dry dock.  The photo to the right shows HMS Cavalier on her last day in commision.

Following a campaign to prevent her from being sold to a Malaysian company, and moved to that country where she (theoretically) would have become a Theme Park, Cavalier was rescued and moved to her present berth at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.  She arrived in May 1999 and now sits in No 2 dry dock, the site where HMS Victory was built.  Since her arrival at Chatham, a great deal of work has been done, restoring much of the ship.  This work has been undertaken by Volunteers and employees of The Historic Dockyard resulting in much of the ship now being open to the public.

In November 2007, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, unveiled a National Destroyer Memorial and dedicated HMS Cavalier as a museum ship, in memory to the 142 RN Destroyers lost, along with almost 30,000 seamen, during the Second World War.

During 2008/9 the after mess decks, washrooms and heads/WCs were restored to make them habitable for use by youth groups, such as Sea Cadets and Sea Scouts.  At the same time a disabled lift and accomodation was fitted to enable those with mobility problems to make use of the facilities and stay aboard overnight.

In the course of this work some serious corrosion was found which had to be dealt with.  This required  the replacement or repair of deckhead and deck in several areas.  New stairs, providing escape routes from 3 deck messes, were also fitted as well as a raised deck being installed around the lift area to permit easier wheelchair access.