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- HMS Quebec during the Second World War -


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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

HMS Quebec




If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.



Those known to have sailed in

HMS Quebec

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of HMS Quebec from other sources.



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Want to know more about HMS Quebec?


There are:-1 items tagged HMS Quebec available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.


Able Sea. John McLean HMS Quebec

My father, John McLean voluntarily enlisted in the Royal Navy on Thursday 14th of November 1940. My mother relayed a funny story and said that my father left home early in the morning on the 14th to go to get some milk from a local shop and didn't return until early evening. When my mother, who was obviously upset, asked him where he had been, he proudly told her he had enlisted in the Navy and would be leaving the next day.

His service record shows that his first posting was at HMS Collingwood followed by HMS Pembroke, Northney, Quebec and HMS Copra and was released from service in January 1946. I have little information about my father's service as he passed away in 1955 when I was only 9 years old. My mother told me that my father had been on a landing craft during the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Normandy.

John McLean



Cyril Huxtable HMS Victory

Cyril Huxtable was a telegraphist on HMS Victory from 28th of September 1940 to 25th of October 1940. He also served on HMS Pembroke, HMS Claverhouse, HMS Quebec, HMS Salsette, HMS Salsette III, HMS Braganza III, HMS Copra, HMS Calliope, HMS Mauritius during 1938 - 1946. He was recalled for 18 months in April 1952 as PO Telegraphist on HMS Neptune but was released early in November 1953.

Lesley Smith



AB. George Hatton H.M.S. Quebec (d.19th of August 1942)

George Hatton served with the Royal Navy aboard HMS Quebec in WW2. He died 19th of August 1942 aged 24 years. His body very likely washed ashore near Oostende, Belgium. He was temporarily buried at Stuiverstraat, Civilian cemetery but is now buried at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery in Belgium. Son of James and Elizabeth Hatton, of Warrington, Lancashire.

Michael van de Velde



Able Sea. Ernest Ralph Barwick HMS Copra

Ernest Barwick joined the Royal Navy 7th of May 1941 aged 20. From his service record, he appears to have spent most of the war between HMS Pembroke, HMS Quebec and HMS Copra, which I understand to be training bases for commandos/special forces. I do have a photo of my father driving a landing craft.

He told me a few stories of his time in the Mediterranean around the Adriatic near Corfu. It seems he suffered some of the worst storms and rough seas he had ever experienced in these waters. There was also a story of being involved in the Sicily landings, particularly Operation Ladbrook. This was evidently one of the worst cases of friendly fire and my father told me of rescuing parachutists from the water thinking they were German only to find it was our own commandos. It appears the American pilots released the gliders too early and ran away when the invasion fleet opened fire on them at night. No one had told the fleet that the planes with gliders were coming so they were thinking they were Germans attacking the fleet. 1200 paratroopers were killed. A more detailed source for this record can be found in a book by Geoffrey Regan, Blue on Blue A history of Friendly Fire dated 1995

Paul Barwick



PO. Ronald Hutchins HMS Quebec (d.11th Nov 1942)

La Reunion War Cemetery, Algeria

Ronald Hutchens served in HM Landing Craft Medium E2 and HMS Quebec. He is buried in La Reunion War Cemetery in Algeria.

Mark Preston



LSea. Eric Killelay

I just found my dad's papers. Eric Killelay began his Service at Chatham on 3rd of October 1939, until termination on the 6th December 1945. He is stated to have a Class A character very good through out. He served on H.M.S Delhi 26th of Jan 1940 to 7th of April 1942, H.M.S Quebec 22nd of August 1942 to 30th of June 1943 and H.M.S Copra from 1st of July 1943 to 7th of May 1944.

He didn't talk much to me about the war but I know he was incharge of rum rations and he was torpedoed and was in the water for several hours. And, that he had been to Boris Karlof's house and got a kiss off Jane Mansfield. He also had a lot of nightmares about his friend who was standing beside him when a shell came over and took his friend's head off. I can remember him waking up sweating and shouting, it must of been a horrible thing to see. Bless him no longer living hope he's having a good drink with his buddies.

Mark Killelay



L/Sea. Geoffrey James Miles HMS Nelson

Very little is known of my father's, Geoffrey Miles, service during the 2nd world war. I do know that he served on HMS Nelson between 16th Feb 1940 and 21st March 1942. I know that he went from there to Inveraray, HMS Quebec to do his Naval Commando training, and the next date is joining a Combined Operations Unit from 31st May 1944. I don't know his ranks at these particular times, but he was a Leading Seaman on his discharge on 11th November 1947. Sadly, my father passed away in 1982, 35 years to the day, after his discharge.

Steve Miles



Able Sea. William Thomas Redhead HMS Copra

Bill Redhead HMS Quebec 1942

Bill Redhead, Navy Days 1942 - 46

My father Bill Redhead enlisted on 31st of August 1942 for the duration of WW2 and was discharged from duties on 3rd of June 1946. His Certificate of Service lists his Port Division as Chatham and he revisited Chatham on several occasions until his death in 2004.

He started out on the HMS Ganges as an Ordinary Seaman on 31st of Aug 1942, then to HMS Pembroke on 12th of Nov 1942 presumably when his initial training was complete. On 5th Dec 1942 he moved to HMS Quebec & remained with that ship until 31st Aug 1943 when he became an Able Seaman & moved to Copra where he was stationed until 28th Feb 1946. The remaining time until his Discharge on 3rd June 1946 was spent with HMS Pembroke.

He rarely spoke about the War as he found memories of friends lost too distressing but when he did he talked mainly of his time on Landing Crafts during the time of the Battle of Anzio. One story in particular sticks in my mind - a close friend asked my father to switch Watch with him one night as the friend wanted to go ashore to see a girl. My father did & had an uneventful Watch. The following night when the friend was on my father's Watch they received a direct hit and the friend was killed. My father used to say that had his friend not asked him to do him a favour, he would not have survived the War and neither me nor my 2 brothers would have been born.

According to my older cousin & an uncle my father was trained as a Royal Commando during the war but I can find no official record of this, although it does tie up with the time he spent at Anzio, Salerno and in Sicily. In 1984 by father returned to Anzio & the surrounding region for the first time since the war. He enjoyed the trip, taken with my mother, but said it held so many sad & moving memories. Sadly talk of his training as a Royal Commando only came out when I was preparing his eulogy after he died in 2004 and so I was never able to ask him to verify this.

Sue Leggett



A/Lt. John Farrington HMS Cobra

John Farrington joined HMS Drake on the 6th of May 1941. He transferred to HMS Quebec as an Ordinary Seaman on the 24th of May 1941. He was posted on the 2nd of May 1942 to HMS King Alfred as a Seaman. He was commissioned as Temporary Sub Lieutenant and joined HMS Quebec on the 13th of September 1942. On the 1st of July 1943 he was posted to HMS Cobra for the remainder of the war. On October 1945 he was at HMS Victory IV as a Temporary Acting Lieutenant and on the 29th of December 1945 he was posted to HMS Rye until 12th of July 1946.

Margy Farrington



Able Sea. Leonard Wilby HMS Ganges

Leonard Wilby was my cherished late grandfather who voluntarily served from the age of 17 in the Royal Navy in WW2. Commissioned on Royal Navy vessels: HMS Ganges, Pembroke, Quebec, Copra and Dundonald at some point during the war. He was one of 10 siblings who, miraculously, all served during the war and who all lived to return home.

April Richardson



Able Sea. James "Monty" Montgomery Tank Landing Craft HMS Dinasour

My father James Montgomery joined the Royal Navy in August 1921 as a volunteer at the age of 20. After basic training he went to HMS Pembroke and HMS Quebec until March 1942 when he is shown on his service records as been attached to HMS Dinosaur and Cobra. HMS Cobra was a training centre for Landing Craft among other courses but was also used to cover any gaps where the name of a ship wasn't known.

My father has the North Africa Star and he told me stories of transiting the Med to get there. He also showed me a picture of a ship that he served on that unfortunately was torpedoed on its way back. My father had, luckily for him, been taken off that ship prior to it departing.

On 6th June 1944 my father was in Tank Landing Craft on Omaha beach in support of US forces. My father told me about Omaha beach but it wasn't until after his death when I watched Saving Private Ryan that I realized exactly what that must have been like.

Jim Montgomery



Stkr. John William "Jack" Hill HMS Royal Arthur

My dad was at HMS Royal Arthur from 12th March 1941 to 17th April 1941. He went on to serve on HMS Victory, HMS Rockingham, HMS Ferret, HMS Quebec and HMS Copra. He was a stoker 1st and 2nd class. He service records only go up to 1943, so I don't know which other ships he was on after that, although I remember him talking about HMS Keppel.

Sally Redden



Wren. Gertrude "Paddy" Canning HMS Quebec (d.30th Jun 1942)

My late aunt Gertrude Canning was a serving Wren at the combined operations bases in Inveraray. Gertrude was stationed in Admiralty House in Inveraray and worked in the officer's mess. She was walking to her base to begin her duties after posting a letter to her father but was followed on that day and attacked in the woods. She was only 20 years old and was shot 4 times by someone who was never caught.It led to one of the most covert investigations in WW2 which resulted in the ballistic testing of thousands of Webley.38 revolvers. Her killer was thought to have perished at the disastrous Battle of Dieppe. Although my aunt was only in the service 3 months before she died, it is nice to think that she played her part in the campaign. It would be interesting to find out if anyone is still alive that remembers the case and if anyone has been told about it from an older relative. I would love to hear from anyone. The story is on the net: Gertrude Canning murder

Joe Canning



Wren Gertrude "Paddy" Canning HMS Quebec (d.30th Jun 1942)

I would like to let you know of my Aunt Gertrude Canning in the hope that there are still some of her old "chums" with us today. We, Gertrude's family, have been looking for someone that served with her on HMS Quebec the Special Operations Training Camp in Inveraray, Scotland. Unfortunately, her time in the service,WRNS,was tragically cut short. Gertrude was coming back to her base on June 30th 1942 when she was murdered in woods close to her camp. She became the subject of a 4 day search. When her body was found in undergrowth, close to the "Marriage tree" it was discovered that she'd been shot 4 times with a .38 revolver. Her killer was never found despite a nationwide investigation and thousands of ballistic tests on revolvers. It is thought her killer was probably a casualty of the disastrous Dieppe raid.

Next June 30th my family will travel to Inveraray to dedicate a bench and brass plate to her memory on the 70th anniversary of her death. I am pleased to share this information with all. If anyone wants to read about the case, please go to the web and type,"Gertrude Canning murder". I hope to get some feedback through this and especially from a Wren, soldier, or civilian that knew her in Inveraray back in 1942. Sadly,many servicemen and women of that time have passed on, but I live in hope as they say. Gertrude's story has recently been told in the Argyll Advertiser,The Scottish Herald and The Scottish Daily Mail. Strathclyde are still treating it as a live enquiry and the case is now the subject of a review.

Joseph Canning







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