Hove in the Past: HMS Sussex

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2020)

copyright © Trove Newspapers - National Library of Australia
The former HMS Sussex entering the Port of Melbourne
24 October 1934

In 1946 this was the new name of what had formerly been known as the Sussex Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, whose headquarters at Hove were 5 Victoria Terrace. The new name became possible when HMS Sussex, a county-class cruiser was paid off. The new HMS Sussex received the old vessel’s large silver bell, which eventually hung in Chichester Cathedral.

In 1946 a war-time minesweeper (MMS 1017, 255 tons) arrived, and was attached to the Division. The ship was named Curzon after Viscount Francis Curzon (later 5^th Earl Howe) a former commander of the Sussex Division of the RNVR. All RNVR sweepers were given names with local significance – the names being transferred as each vessel was replaced, and this practice continued until 1975.

In 1952 the RNVR lost its distinctive wavy stripe on the sleeve, which became a piece of lost history. All the 22,500 men who passed through HMS King Alfred sported a wavy stripe on their sleeve, and consequently the regular personnel of the Royal Navy labelled them the ‘Wavy Navy’. Film buffs of the 1953 film The Cruel Sea will remember the early scene where two new officers – fresh from the King Alfred – climb aboard the Compass Rose with the wavy stripe prominently on view.

Also in 1952 the Women’s RNVR was instituted nationally, and a unit was promptly formed at Hove.

In 1959 RNVR Chief Writer George Turner retired at the age of 55. Hove-born Turner said he had become the fifteenth man to join the local RNVR in 1923 as an ordinary seaman. He had served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and he intended to carry on as secretary to the Hove Sea Cadet Corps.

Also in 1959 the RNVR celebrated its centenary, and a Naval Ball was held at Hove Town Hall.

In 1954 HMS Bickington (M 1109, 440 tons fully loaded) came into service. She was a newly-built TON-class coastal minesweeper with an aluminium-framed wooden hull. Naturally, she was re-named Curzon. The Division also had the use of HMS Axeford, a fast patrol boat, which provided an escort for the Royal Yacht when the Queen visited the Channel Islands.

In 1961 the men of HMS Sussex won the Thorneycroft Trophy, which was competed for annually by the eleven reserve minesweepers of the 10^th MS Squadron consisting of the following:

London

Sussex

Wessex

Bristol

Cardiff

Liverpool

Clyde

Edinburgh

Dundee

Tyne

Belfast

The Flag Officer, Sea Training, Admiral Gratton, congratulated Hove on its outstanding achievement.

New Headquarters

As far back as 1951 new headquarters were envisaged at Maxwell’s Wharf, Shoreham Harbour, but due to the credit squeeze the plans were put on ice. At last there was some activity in the 1960s, and on 14 May 1967 the Mayor of Hove, Councillor Donald Edmonds, unveiled a commemorative plaque at HMS Sussex.

On 12 July 1968 Princess Alexandra formally opened the new £140,000 headquarters. The Princess was given a trip around Shoreham Harbour aboard HMS Curzon (formerly HMS Fittleton M 1136), and waiting on board to greet her were the following:

Rear Admiral H. Place VC

Admiral Commanding Reserves, RNR Commodore Virgil Tolhurst (former commanding officer of HMS Sussex who lived at Hove)

Commanding Officer Captain Derek

When Princess Alexandra came ashore, she inspected a guard of honour. The headquarters included wireless and radar rooms, sickbay, dental surgery, victualling and clothing stores, engineering workshops, bosun’s stores, magazine, armoury, offices and classrooms. There was also three Messes (wardroom, chief and petty officers, and ratings) plus a galley to cater for 300 personnel.

In 1968 the old RNR Battery situated west of Hove Street was closed down, with the personnel being transferred to the headquarters at Maxwell’s Wharf.

By 1974 the commanding officer was Captain Brian Perrin RNR, and HMS Sussex was home to the following:

150 ratings

32 Wren ratings

80 officers

while the permanent staff consisted of:

1 RN staff officer

1 retired RN supply officer

13 CPO instructors

A Tragedy

In 1976 a terrible tragedy befell HMS Sussex. Their sea-tender was the wooden-hulled HMS Fittleton, which had been called HMS Curzon from 1963 to 1975, but reverted to its original name in January 1976 when hull-sharing was introduced as part of the defence cuts.

HMS Fittleton was taking part in a huge NATO exercise in the North Sea, codenamed Teamwork 76. This ship was normally berthed at Maxwell’s Wharf, and on 13 September 1976 she set sail from Shoreham Harbour. The crew consisted of 30 ratings from the London Division, one from Sussex, and six RN training and maintenance staff. Lieutenant Commander Peter Paget RNR of the London Division was the commanding officer for the training exercise.

On 20 September 1976 HMS Fittleton was engaged in a heaving-line transfer of mail to HMS Mermaid at a position some 80 miles north of the Frisian Islands, when unfortunately HMS Fittleton collided with the other vessel twice, overturned and capsized, sinking in 26 fathoms (160 feet). Thirty sailors managed to escape but tragically twelve were drowned.

A special tribute was paid to 32-year old Charles Newell, Ordinance Electrical Mechanic, from Brighton, who had worked for Hove-based heating firm since leaving school at the age of fifteen. His father said he could not swim. Three days after the disaster, his body had still not been found despite the best efforts of frogmen who dived down to the ship.

HMS Mermaid was built for President Nkrumah of Ghana, and was called Black Star. It was a luxury ship popularly called a floating gin palace. But when Nkrumah was deposed, the vessel spent four years languishing in a dock before being taken over by the Royal Navy. She entered service in 1973 – without the opulent trimmings, naturally. During the Cod War, HMS Mermaid was rammed twice, once by the Atlantic patrol boat Thor.

At the time of the NATO exercise Commander Roger Heptistall RN was the commanding officer of HMS Mermaid, and also on board were Rear Admiral Hugo Hollins, Admiral Commanding Reserves, with his sea-training staff.

A New Ship

The new ship assigned to HMS Sussex was the 425-ton mine-hunter HMS Kellington (M 1154), and in 1982 she was re-fitted a cost of £3 million, which included new radar and radio equipment. She was back with HMS Sussex by February 1983. HMS Kellington bore the distinction of being awarded the Plessey Trophy in competition with all minesweepers in the British Fleet, both RN and RNR.

A Special Sword

In May 1977 a rare 19^th century presentation sword was handed back to HMS Sussex. The sword had once belonged to the Admiral Commanding Dockyards, but had been in the safekeeping of HMS Sussex for some years. The last ACD was Hugo Hollis before the office was abolished. The sword was then refurbished, mounted, and used as a presentation symbol in December 1976 to mark the transference of control to the Commander in Chief Naval Home Command.

Families’ Day

This eagerly anticipated annual event allowed wives and children of men serving on HMS Sussex the chance to see things for themselves. This included a trip around Shoreham Harbour aboard the minesweeper HMS Arun (M 2014) the last ship to be attached to the Division. She was a River-class MSF, weighed 850 tons, and had a steel hull.

Long Service

CPO George Poole spent 32 years with HMS Sussex as a marine engineering mechanic, and in 1986 was awarded the British Empire Medal for his service. He died at the age of 54 in January 1992.

Freedom of the Borough

On 6 May 1977 the Sussex Division RNR were presented with the Freedom of the Borough of Hove by the Mayor of Hove, Councillor Derek Ireland. It was the first time an RNR Division had been granted such an honour in the whole country.

Unhappily, the honour was short-lived because a mere seventeen years later it fell to Commander Michael Lewis RNR, commanding officer of HMS Sussex to return the framed Freedom of the Borough, to the Mayor of Hove, Councillor Peter Martin. As a final hurrah, the Sussex Division exercised their right to march through Hove.

The End of the Line

In 1993/1994, as part of the Royal Navy’s defence cuts, all RNXS units were disbanded. The Division transferred to a large combined unit at Whale Island where a new headquarters was built with the familiar name of HMS King Alfred. At the time the Maxwell Wharf HQ closed, there were 160 reservists, sixteen RN personnel, and fifteen civilian staff. On 28 March 1994 the Ensign was lowered for the last time by Leading Radio Operator Mike Irons, while Sea Cadet Dave Ritchings sounded the final Colours. Thus ended a 90-year old Naval link, although Hove Sea Cadets continued to use part of the site for some time.

Sources

Dingwall, R. H. & Bailey, R. E. Sussex Sunday Sailors by the Sea (1977)

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Kerr, J. L. & Granville, W. The RNVR (1957)

Kerr, J. L. & James, D, The Wavy Navy (1950)
National Library of Australia
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

page layout by D.Sharp

05 August 2020

HMS Sussex