Halcyon Class Minesweepers HMS Seagull
Family & Friends
 
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K Dixon
Family & Friends

 

 

Since the launch of this website in April 2006 there has been a steady number of e-mails from relatives of crew members and, indeed, former members of the crews of the Halcyons themselves. Details have been included here of those contacts relating to HMS Seagull, although e-mail addresses are excluded for privacy and to avoid spam messages. Please contact me if you would like to contact anyone listed here.

 

Crew Member Contact Relationship Information
L J Earp L W Earp Son A/B LESLIE JOHN EARP. FEB. 1942 TILL APRIL 1943. CONVOYS PQ15, I6 , 17. JOINED HMS SLINGER 1943 THEN HMS SYLVIA TILL 1946 ,STILL GOING STRONG AGED 82. HIS FIRST SHIP WAS HMS SEAGULL AND HE SAW PLENTY OF ACTION ON THE RUSSIAN CONVOYS. THESE SAILORS WERE INDEED SUPERMEN !
C J Dalton M Shearer Son in Law I AM WRITING TO GIVE THE NAME OF CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH DALTON WHO WAS A STOKER ON THE SEAGULL DURING THE WAR HE USED TO REFER TO A OFFICER AS JIMMY THE 1 COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE 1ST LT JAMES PHILISTON HE TOLD OF HIS MANY EXPLOITS ON THE RUSSIAN CONVOYS BUT SADLY DIED IN 1991 HOPE THIS HAS HELPED
F Farnell Tracy Farnell   My name is Tracy Farnell and I have recently been tracing my family tree. I have found out that my late great uncle Frederick Farnell served on HMS Seagull pre-war and throughout the war. I have quite a bit of information about him including a very clear photo of him and his fellow crew members and of HMS Seagull if you would like to see them I am sure they will be of interest. I would also like his name added to your list if at all possible.
G Knowles Roger Knowles Son
I was interested to discover your site as my father George Knowles served in Seagull Jan.42-Jan43. He is 91 now and still "with it" but usually is reluctant to discuss his wartime service. Perhaps if I tell him of your site he may be more forthcoming. These men have so much to tell that will soon be lost.
hanks for your reply to my e-mail. I sent Dad the 1942/3 section on Seagull and he was thrilled to bits to receive it.
Incidentally he lives about 3 hours drive from me so communication is limited to phone and monthly visits.
However, he seems willing to open up about his wartime experiences now and I hope to get his recollections on paper shortly. He also received the Arctic Emblem from the MOD and was not overly impressed with it. I don't know what your views are on it but I get the impression there is some dissatisfaction in the ranks on its style and size. Dad is a member of the Arctic Convoy Veterans Association and he does pick up some information from them from time to time. I would have thought a full-on campaign medal would have been appropriate, at least the Russians did something for the veterans.
I will get in touch again when I get some material for the site.
Regards,
Roger Knowles
Melbourne
R H Taylor Ken Taylor Son
My Father ( Ronald H Taylor) served on board the Seagull as a stoker, unfortunately I can not confirm the true date as my dad past away on the 13th of September 2004 if only I had found your site before, but know from what my Dad had told me that he served on her from the time he was called up until he was demobbed, which I believe would have been around 1941 to 1945 as I was born in 1942 and he was away then and I must have been around 3 year old when he finally came home.
Hoping this information can be used and and that my father's name can be included on the crew list it would be much appreciated.
Herbert Marsden Dr Philip Marsden Grandson
My grandfather, Herbert Marsden, served on the Seagull during WWII.  We have a nice sketch of him that was done when they were in Polyarnoe USSR on 20 November, 1943:  (the sketch is attached, it was drawn on the back of a map of Finisterre).   He passed away a few years ago but I shall keep looking for information he may have left and am interested in learning more from others.
[See Crew Section for sketch]
Eric Ilott
When I joined Seagull we were sweeping from Belgium all along the coast right up to the Dutch Island of Texel and as the Germans were leaving we got closer to the coast and instead of returning to Margate and safe anchorage we anchored off Ostend for a couple of nights in quiet mode & no lights with lookouts posted but to no avail we lost a Dan Layer each night after which needless to say we resumed safe anchorage at Margate.
Also one day an armada of ships appeared including Monitors Lord Roberts & Erebus. The Buzz was we were going to sweep a passage to the Walcheren Islands...but the next morning the Armada had gone, apparently another Flotilla got the job, lucky for us unlucky for them.
 
Shortly after we got the job to proceed up the river Maas presumably to see if it was clear of mines, luckily for us it was, when we arrived at Rotterdam the port was in a right mess the cranes were destroyed and also the oil tanks were on fire. About 10 yrs ago whilst visiting some friends, we were introduced to their friends and we got talking about the war and Holland it turned out one of the gentlemen had actually worked on Seagull whilst it was at Rotterdam a chance meeting of one in a million.

Eric Ilott Sept 2007

William Glover Rodney Trudgeon Son in Law I have been recently been talking to my father in law about ships that he served on in his navel days. Your site giving the ships history has been read by him with great interest and he remembers many of the crew he served with in the arctic and Russia. His name is William Glover known as (Jan) rank leading stoker service number DKX/105155.He was aged 20 when he joined HMS Seagull September 1940 and was part of the crew until April 1944.He then joined a brand new Loch class frigate HMS Scavaig K648 after some time in European waters he sailed to the far east with her and was on this ship for some time. while in the far east he also served on a LCT and a salvage ship leaving the service in 1953.After some time in the merchant service on tankers he then joined the crew of the cable ship St Margaret's. Now aged 87 he and his wife live in the outskirts of Plymouth.
Dec 2007
He remembers the supply problems for everything the ship and crew required to operate out of Russia. They relied on anything spare from returning ships sailing back to the UK food fuel etc, as they got very little from the Russians. He remembers a large Russian with bushy beard who gave them a large section of yak which they tried every way to cook including curried, but was so hard they could not eat it they had to dump it a great shame. He was brought up on a farm and he could not remember any thing else that he could not eat in some way or other.
CREW MEMBERS he served with on Seagull. (Chief PO,s) Ingroville (Coxswain), Chowens (Chief stoker), Gregory (chief stoker), Jarvis (c.e.r.a), Boothman(e.r.a) Cargenvan (e.r.a). (Stoker PO,s) Chilton, Dunn, Bragg, Curtis (all from Plymouth). (Leading stokers), Dixon, Wright, Honour,  O,Neil, Peebles, Cunliffe. (Stokers) Hawkens, Birch, *Kitchen  Hodges, Brooks*(from Cornwall)*
Toogood, Merchant, Owens, Knowles, Stokes, McDonald (all from Bristol), Mann, Evans,*Driscolls x 2(not related), Fennell, O,Donnells* (from southern  Ireland). (Cook) Spry, (officers cook) Rendle, (steward) Pattenmore (yeoman signals) Day. (Seamen) Morton, Greggs, Silvestor, Davis, Figgott,(Leading seamen) Francis. Hope this is some use to your site. Rodney Trudgeon. Jan 2008
Harry Foster George Foster Son

My Dad Harry Foster served as a stoker in HMS Seagull from May 1944 (he remembers the grounding incident) until August 1945. He has communicated with Eric Ilott and Albert Walker but lost touch. After Seagull he joined HMS Patroller in Scotland and took her to the far east to pick up many of the (14th?) Army boys. His official number was DK/X 539612 and he is alive and well and living in Cannington, Somerset. 
His favourite story is going ashore in Ipswich on VE night but wondering how he could conserve the 10 shillings he had in his pocket, he needn’t have worried – he met a bunch of US airman in a pub and they wouldn’t let him buy a drink! 
I am his son George Foster and I too served as a stoker in the RN from 1963 to 1971.
Jan 2008

Raymond Dodd Alan Hall   My wife's stepfather served on HMS Seagull from May 1941 until June 1943. He was Lt  Raymond Anthony Dodd. He volunteered  in Shanghai Nov 1939 was Shipped to Hong Kong and on to England. Had various postings before the Seagull , discharged in November 1946  when he returned to Hong Kong. Returned to England 1959 .Died  1971.
Alan Hall Feb 2008
Albert Stroud Graham Stroud Son
The sketch of Herbert Marsden was drawn by my father Albert Stroud, a signalman on Seagull. He is alive and well and will soon celebrate his 87th birthday.
He has kept all of his drawings over the years ( except this one of course ) and has a small sketch pad amongst other things showing some of his shipmates. He still paints and has always had a natural talent for this.
 
Dad was pleased to see to his sketch again and amazed at the power of the internet. 
 
Graham Stroud Oct 2008
       

 

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This site was last updated 17 Januar 2012