HMS Exeter Lost 1st March 1942
On the 1st March 1942 The British County Class Cruiser HMS Exeter, the ship that had faught so bravely in the Battle of the River Plate off Montividao in 1939 was lost in action against the Japanese in the South Java sea.
The ships company suffered heavy loss of life in the engagement, but worse was to come when the survivors were taken prisoner by the Japanese Navy, and subsequently suffered dreadful treatment and starvation by the Japanese Army in Prison camps for the remainder of the war.
TF
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I should also have mentioned that Exeter was accompanied by the Destroyer HMS Encounter, that was also sunk in the same engagement.
On the first March 1944 The Frigate HMS Gould was torpedoed in the North Atlantic and sank.
The Royal Navy continued to record significant ship losses until the very end of the war, and many brave seamen some as young as 15 died too.
TF
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Yes indeed Brian the ship was located and identified in February 2007 in indonesian waters at a depth of 200 feet some 60 miles from where the captain reported her sinking.The picture below is the Exeter after a refit in 1941.
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I am sure that some will question me even bringing it up, but I believe that we have a moral responsibility not to forget those who served our Country so well, and in so doing gave their lives.
I have no connection with any navy but find the stories you are posting very interesting as we all learn from it.
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