Sam Bowles

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL Panel 63 Column 1

HMS Tynwald

TSS (RMS) Tynwald No. 165281 was a passenger vessel which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from 1937 until she was requisitioned for war service at the end of 1940.

During the course of Operation Dynamo, Tynwald, initially under the command of Captain J H Whiteway, and then under Captain W A Qualtrough, had the distinction of embarking more troops that any other company vessel.

She made her first mission to the shattered port on 28 May, and was one of ten personnel ships that lifted a total of 14,760 troops from the Eastern Mole the following day. The same day, her sister Fenella was lost.

In the late evening of 30 May, she was one of four personnel vessels back at the mole and withdrew 1,153 troops. On 2 June, she made her third trip and embarked 1,200 troops, leaving for Dover in the early morning of 3 June.

The last day of the operation was 4 June; shortly after 14:00hrs, the Admiralty announced that Operation Dynamo was over. By then Tynwald had already left the eastern mole after her fourth trip. She was the last ship to leave, landing 3,000 French troops in England later that day. Her total in the operation is officially given as 8,953 troops.

At the end of 1940, she was compulsorily acquired, fitted out as an auxiliary anti-aircraft ship and commissioned as HMS Tynwald on 1 October 1941. Armed with 6 4" AA guns (3X2), and 8 2-Pdr AA guns (2X4). After a year on convoy escort duties around Britain she was assigned to Operation Torch, the Allied landing in North Africa, and was involved in the attack on Algiers on 8 November 1942.

Three days later the ship was part of a task force sent to capture an airfield near Bougie (modern Béjaïa) 100 miles east of Algiers. At the centre of the force were infantry landing craft, and the covering force included the cruiser HMS Sheffield, the monitor HMS Roberts, Tynwald and fourteen other supporting vessels. The first landing met with little or no opposition, and the Bougie harbour was occupied. However, it proved impossible to capture the airfield from the sea owing to adverse weather conditions. Instead, the attacking force that was still at sea came under heavy enemy air attack in the Battle of Béjaïa.

On 12 November 1942, Tynwald was hit by a torpedo fired by the Italian submarine, Argo. She had been standing by the monitor Roberts, which was on fire and badly damaged. Tynwald went down in 7 fathoms (13 m) of water her wreck position is given as LAT:36°51'N LON:005°04'E.

Survivors were rescued by Roberts and the corvette HMS Samphire. Three officers and seven ratings were listed as fatalities including Able Seaman Sam Bowles from New Basford, Nottingham. (Wikipedia)

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