This is HMS Grenville, Henry's first ship after completing his
communications training in May 1958. She was first commissioned in 1943 as
'U' Class Destroyer, named after Vice Admiral Sir Richard Grenville, an
Elizabethan soldier sailor. Here, she is seen in her 1953-54 conversion to a
Type 15 Frigate guise. The picture was taken in March 1959 as she entered
Portsmouth. It is fortunate that the picture was taken on her port side, as
there was a long gash running along the bow on her starboard side. This was
due to an accident in Portland, Dorset, when going alongside for the first
time, after a 3 month refit in Rosyth, Scotland. During WW2, she served in
the Mediterranean, D Day and the Pacific as part of the Royal Navy Pacific
Fleet. She was paid off in 1974 and scrapped in 1983. Strangely, this was
the same year Henry last wore a naval uniform.
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