Samuel Comery

CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL 38, 3.

HMS Arethusa

HMS Arethusa was the name ship of her class of light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. Arethusa was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean on completion and was still there at the onset of World War II in September 1939. However, early in 1940 she and her sister Penelope were recalled to the Home Fleet, where they formed the 2nd Cruiser Squadron with the remainder of the class. She participated in the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940, but on 8 May she joined the Nore Command, where she supported the defending forces in Calais and later aided the evacuations from French Atlantic ports.

On 28 June 1940 she was a component of the newly formed Force "H" at Gibraltar, with which she participated in the action against Vichy French forces at Mers el Kebir in July 1940. With Force "H" she took part in convoy protection patrols in the Atlantic and operated in the Mediterranean. Stoker 2nd Class Samuel Comery from Nottingham was lost during this period of service.

During the sortie of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941 she was employed in Iceland and Faroes waters, but by July she had returned to the Mediterranean, where she escorted Malta convoys and herself ran supply trips to the island. Towards the end of 1941 she returned to home waters and took part in the Lofoten raid in December, where she was damaged by near misses. After refit and repair at Chatham until April 1942, she returned to the Mediterranean in June 1942, where she joined the 15th Cruiser Squadron, operating mostly in support of the resupply of Malta.

While on Operation Stoneage, a torpedo from an Italian aircraft struck Arethusa on 18 November 1942 causing heavy casualties. Shipwright 4th Class Samuel Brown and Ordinary Seaman Eric Webb, both from Nottingham, were killed. (Wikipedia)

Unknown