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January 2017: Cadet Stuart Grant receives the Exmouth memorial trophy... please click here to read more


The HMS Exmouth 1940 Association was formed, by relatives, with the aim of furthering an interest in this fine ship and perpetuating the memory, courage and comradeship of the entire ship's company of 189 who were lost when she was sunk by enemy action in the Moray Firth, Caithness, Scotland. on 21st January, 1940.

It is our intention to maintain a strong and continual link with the community of the Wick St. Fergus Church of Scotland. The Church is the custodian of the White Ensign posthumously awarded to the crew of the HMS Exmouth by Commodore Sandford CBE, on behalf of the Royal Navy, during the memorial service held on Sunday the 2nd of September 2001.

The HMS Exmouth 1940 Association has provided an accompanying brass plaque inscribed with the names of the entire HMS Exmouth crew located in Wick St. Fergus Church of Scotland. The Association has also donated an album of photographs and details of the crew to be displayed adjacent to the Ensign. It is hoped that this permanent memorial to the crew of HMS Exmouth will provide a focal point for family members who come forward in the future and provide them with the same comfort afforded to us by the minister who said “as long as this Church stands, the men of Exmouth will be remembered.”

zoomClick HERE to link to CWGC document

In 2001, the then serving minister, the Rev Steven Thomson, and the current serving Session Clerk, David More, were appointed as Honorary Members of the HMS Exmouth 1940 Association. As and when these posts are vacated, the Honorary Membership will transfer to the newly appointed Minister and Session Clerk at Wick so that the link between HMS Exmouth and the Church is protected and unbroken.

 

Between 2001 and 2005, the Association helped to organize, and participated in, four commemorative events: at Wick

(1-2 Sept. 2001, 27-28 Aug. 2005), Portsmouth (1st Sept. 2002), and Exmouth (5-6 June 2004). Here you will find records of those events, together with press cuttings, testimonials by ex-crew members, and references to the discovery of the wreck of HMS Exmouth in 2001. There are no further memorial services planned at this time. The HMS 1940 Association remains in being as a fraternal organisation.

 

Correspondence and applications for membership are welcomed from all interested parties - please contact us.