1940 HMS Exeter returns Home

[MrDiredemon]

Hi my names damian millington and my grand uncle eugen was present in montevideo as the ambassador its kind of strange knowing that i had a relative of such stature there :)

[Factnotfictionpeople]

Good old Jack!

[aberboy007]

my Grandad john morgan was a marine on her, Everytime i watch the battle for river plate have tears in my eyes due to his bravery. Gone but never forgotten

[CaxiasFreguesia]

Great, great video. HMS Exeter came to the Falklands at noon of Saturday, December 16, 1939, sailing at an average speed of 18 knots. Light repairs were made to grant seaworthy conditions. "Y" turret was successfuly repaired and the remained 8" ammunition were transferred from the the bow deposits to stern for any eventuality. Captain Frederick Bell had his eyes hit by almost microscopic splinters, being treated by the surgeon on board.

[donewntcrzy]

My friend's grandfather Clifford Muldoon was Chief Stoker, D/K 62627,Exeter,Killed 27 February 1942,Surface action. His grand father was killed when a bomb hit the boiler room the first time the ship was bombed. He was killed with seven of his crew mates.The ship returned was repaired and sent back out when it was sunk.

[Acme633]

HMS Exeter was no match for the Japanese cruisers in the Battle of Java Sea.

[TheZuikaku]

They got blasted on. Ha

[ToonandBBfan]

I dont know why some people think that we British only recognised Ajax and Exeter for this battle.

Achilles contribution WAS very valuable and much apprieciated too

[swanningaround]

Toon. The King and Churchill were both English and recognized on English ships. They were the two who mattered.

[swanningaround]

@ToonandBBfan. That is the difference bewteen the Colonials and the English. It is ridiculous. A full five star Admiral is there to greet this ship that never even hardly fought in the battle. The men of Exeter and Ajax were lauded by the five star. He never even mentioned the other two ships.

Colonial men also praised the men of the brave ship Amiral Graf Spee. The Colonials recognized that not only the English were brave. Men from the AGS also praised the colonials.

[ToonandBBfan]

Actually, Captain Dove of the MV Africa shell (a small oiler sunk by AGS) praised Langsdorff for his honour and seamanship in a book he wrote about his time onboard the AGS (much to the annoyance of the British high command).

Achilles contribution WAS apprieciated by the Royal Navy.

People who say otherwise are just Anti-British

[ToonandBBfan]

Exeter got the bulk of the attention because she was the heavily damaged ship.

It wasnt just the British that did that.

After Guadalcanal, USS South Dakota recieved the credit when she didnt actually do anything (other than get her superstructure shot up).

It was USS Washington that sunk the IJNS Kirishima that night.

[swanningaround]

@ToonandBBfan. Interesting. I did meet some men off the Achilles. They spoke more of the Amiral Graf Spee and the Ajax than the Exeter. They said there was no triumphalism in New Zealand like there was in England. They were just relieved at the fact that so few men were lost - on both sides.

[ToonandBBfan]

Achilles and Ajax were both Leander class cruisers.

Perhaps the men of Achilles had a strong fondness for that type of ship.

Exeter wasnt a wonderful ship, she carried a large spare parts locker and her Y turret often broke down apparently.

Exeter was by all accounts liked by her own crew, so I guess sailors form attachments to their ships.

Without Achilles, after Exeter withdrew, AGS would probably have finished off Ajax.

But faced against 2 cruisers Langsdorff backed off.

Thanks

[BrabazonBW]

Fantastic! My father joined Exeter to replace the lost crew members and he was onboard when the ship was sunk at Java Sea. He was 19 at the time.

I would love to get this clip to show my mother, can that be done?

[Devonseadog]

Yes, namely the HMNZS Achilles. Altough all the accounts I've read includes the Achilles. In general, it's true that often the role that others play is reduced. Even today, when I see read foreign news channels about Iraq and Afghanistan in different countries, it is the focus of the channels of their country's involvement that dominates - human nature I guess.

[Devonseadog]

My uncle Bill was on board as a marine. He survived the sinking in the Battle of the Java Sea, and as a POW forced to work as slave labour in the Nagasaki ship yards, witnessing unspeakable cruelties committed by Japanese guards, and being there when the atomic weapon was dropped. He and fellow POW's sabotaged the ships risking execution. Despite beatings, malnutrition, Berri-Berri, dysentery and the nuclear bomb, he is still alive today; a testimony to the toughness of his generation.

[swanningaround]

Devonseadog. Your uncle Bill is a hero. I think men like him should be praised.

I am not happy about this ship being prasied for the Battle of Plate. People always talk about "Ajax and Exeter". They forget that other ships were there too. However, these were not English ships.

[aqvila86]

Thank you for posting that skoblini. My grandad, then age 20, is in the final few shots of the vid (smoking). Would there be any chance I could ask for a .zip file of the reel? It would be great to have a permanent record of him on film.

H

[trent8002003]

The captain was really handsome!

[astraltrader]

A brilliant video of a brilliant ship...

[kensington25]

Thank you so much for this clip. My grandfather Lt Brougham was on board when she was sunk in 1942. He spent the rest of the War as a POW in Japan. He also kept a diary. What they went through was devastating.

[skoblinI]

Your welcome, kensington. If I find more I will post it.

[kensington25]

Thank you and I reallu appreciate it :)

[hmasmelbourne]

Its ironic that alot of these men were dead two years later whne the japanese sunk HMS Exeter

[WELLBRAN]

Not all as some were transferred out to other ships but some did reamin, while many were taken on as new crew, ie: my father

[machineamsterdam]

My heartfelt thanks to Skolini for posting this. My dear father, Horace Samuel Cooper was a common seaman on board the HMS Exeter during the tours of the Americas and South Atlantic from 1936 to 1939, coming home to England in 1940. He was there at the Battle of the Rio de la Plata.

[skoblinI]

Thanks for the comment, amsterdam. Your father must have had stories regarding the Battle of the Plate.

[jmdm1957]

Forget about those 2 people look at the ships crews, who went through these things and try it youself

[WELLBRAN]

Thatcher had the Belgrano...Churchill had Exeter..total propaganda. she should have been scrapped.

[ToonandBBfan]

Superb historical video.

Thanks for sharing with us.

[PatrioticandProud73]

Winston Churchill, one of the British Greats a true British Icon.

[stevebritgimp]

Thank you so much for this! Yes, returning to Devonport!!

[trent8002003]

The captain is a handsome guy. Love men in uniform with a great accent!

[Hearwood]

Very vell! A had never seen video vith HMS Exeter. One of my favorite photos from WV2 - HMS Exeter in Bristol. Earlier I supposed that this video must be somewhere. Thanks.

[skoblinI]

I will look for more Exeter videos. cheers, mate

[rugbybem]

Thank you for this. Naval history is one of my main interests and this is a gem;

[skoblinI]

thanks, rugbybem! I will have many more naval videos to come - perhaps a hundred or two...