# H.M.S. Whitehall



## paul0510 (Jul 25, 2005)

Do any of you remember the BBC People's War project from a year or so ago? I entered an account of the Dunkirk disaster as seen through the eyes of my father who was forced back to the beaches with his gunnery unit in 1940. He was taken off in what he called an old trampship that subsequently broke down somewhere in the Channel. To their rescue came the 'Whitehall' which returned posthaste to Dover for disembarkation. 
Now I've googled this destroyer (D94) and have found some pitifully small pics of the old girl so I was wondering if anybody had a decent-sized, scanned photo of her. Father is still much alive and kicking and the Whitehall incident was a major turning-point in his life....and, I suppose, for many others as well.
I would love to be able to present him with a photo when I visit in November for my parents' 60th wedding anniversary.

P.S. Anyone interested in his account of those dramatic days can go to parts I & II
here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/56/a3510956.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/65/a3510965.shtml

Thanks, lads.


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## George.GM (Feb 8, 2006)

*HMS Whitehall*

Paul - Have a look at www.navyphotos.co.uk. There are three
reasonable photos of Whitehall there


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## paul0510 (Jul 25, 2005)

as on ex-BTC man to another, thanks a bunch, George! Exactly what I was looking for. I'll weave a bit of Photoshop magic on these to clean 'em up and see how they print.


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## gdynia (Nov 3, 2005)

*HMS Whitehall*

Paul

Heres a photo I bought as my grandfather served on this vessel


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## pugwash (Sep 17, 2006)

Paul050 Go to this thread I have three or four pictures you may like in the last posts. my Uncle was on the Whitehall.
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=7153&highlight=whitehall


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## paul0510 (Jul 25, 2005)

gdynia/pugwash when did your relatives serve on this vessel, any ideas? Dad got picked up around the beginning of June 1940.
Spruced the 'old girl' up a bit.


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## gdynia (Nov 3, 2005)

Paul
As Im abroad at present cannot tell you,I only brought aload of photos with me to catolouge but will check when I get home


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## pugwash (Sep 17, 2006)

Hi Paul, My Uncle is Leslie Styles, he is a true Londoner, I now live in the USA so do not have great communications with that end of the family, however he told me that he arrived on Whitehall just after they had removed the test mortar launchers known by the sailors as the "four wide virgins" one of the first forward firing deapth charge launchers, history would put that near the middle of 1940. He has spoken to me about the Russian convoys, I asked how cold it was and unbeleivably he said they never felt it as they were so well dressed with the Duffel coats etc, and worked so hard on the decks that the fingers and noses were the only hurty bits!! He did say that bellow decks was awful as she tossed very badly and the bulkheads sweated and some times the condensation formed a thin ice layer inside. He sait that they were wet a lot. he told of working the Med and the warmer climes where it was hotter than heck below decks so they could not win. The Whitehall did the tars well and she survived the war to be broken up, a sad end but nice to know she brought her crew home ok.


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## pugwash (Sep 17, 2006)

*New picture*

Here is a new picture of H.M.S. Whitehall entering Vallencia Harbour Malta. My Uncle remembers going to Malta but staying outside the Harbour,


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