Woodbridge During the Second World War 

Details of HMS Easton (L09)

HMS Easton was a ‘Hunt’ class destroyer, a class that was designed to provide escort vessels for convoys. She was built by J S White & Co Ltd, Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was ordered on 28th July 1940, laid down on 25th March 1941, launched on 11th July 1942 and completed on 7th December 42.  Eleven days later HMS Easton rendezvous with the Armed Merchant Cruiser Canton and escorted her to the Clyde for defect repairs. HMS Easton was then allocated to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla at Alexandria. To get there she took the place of the damaged HMS Badsworth in Convoy KMF 9, which sailed from the Clyde on 8 February 1943 and reached Algiers on the 16th.

HMS Easton was then used on general patrol and escort duties until August 1943. She was involved in the sinking of no less than four submarines during this period, three of them in a matter of 20 days. On 17th Feb 1943 with Wheatland, she sank the Italian submarine Asteria off Bougie, and six days later sank U443 off Algiers with Bicester, Lamerton and Wheatland. Subsequently U83 was damaged by Easton and then finished off by aircraft south of Cartagena on 9th March 1943.

On 22nd August 1943, while on escort duties covering the build-up after the Sicily Landings, HMS Easton sighted the U-boat U458 south of Pantellaria.  HMS Easton rammed U458 at 20 knots and sank it but in doing so she considerably damaged herself as well.

After temporary repair at Malta, permanent repairs were not completed at Gibraltar until 18th Sep 1944. Easton then joined the 59th Destroyer Division, shelling Greek Communist positions near Piraeus between 5th and 9th December 1944.

Crest of HMS Easton

HMS Easton

In March 1945 it was decided that the Easton, amongst others, should be recalled to the UK in view of the U-boat situation in UK coastal waters. She joined the 21st Destroyer Flotilla at Sheerness in March 45 and after refitting at Southampton between May and August 45, she entered Category ‘B’ Reserve on 29th October 1945.

HMS Easton re-entered service with the 3rd Escort Flotilla at Portsmouth during 1946/7, but spent considerable periods under repair, finally being relegated to Category ‘B’ Reserve at Harwich on 3rd November 47. Easton transferred to Sheerness for a refit, which commenced on 8th August 49. However, work stopped on 2nd September 49 as Easton’s condition was so poor and on 4th November 49 she was allocated for service as a training hulk at Rosyth. She was stripped of equipment at Sheerness before transfer to Rosyth where she served as a hulk until 4th December 1952 when she was allocated to Metal Industries Ltd and scrapped at their yard at Rosyth in January 1953.

Last edited 15 Sept 21