Clive Gwinner (1908–1998) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a successful

Anti-Submarine Warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

commander, being credited with the destruction of seven

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s during the

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Early life

Clive Gwinner was born 15 October 1908. In 1922, aged 14, he joined the Royal Navy as an officer cadet, and in 1926 was appointed to the cruiser HMS ''Frobisher'', with the rank of

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. In 1930 he was made Sub-Lieutenant, and 1931

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. In the period before the

Gwinner served in several postings including 2 years aboard the submarine ''L53''.

War-time service

At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 Gwinner was commander of the minesweeper ''Alresford'' with rank of lieutenant commander: In February 1940 he was appointed commanding officer of the destroyer ''Duncan'', followed in July with a shore posting in

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. In September 1940 Gwinner commissioned HMS ''Clare'' (a Town class destroyer) and was employed for the next nine months as a convoy escort. In this role Gwinner was engaged in all the duties performed by escort ships; protecting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats assaulting ships in convoy, and rescuing survivors. In June 1941 he took over as the first CO of the sloop ''Lulworth'' (ex

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) commanding her for next two years. During this time Gwinner and ''Lulworth'' were assigned to the West Africa convoy route, escorting ships to and from

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. In this role Gwinner escorted 12 long distance convoys, ensuring the safe and timely arrival of more than 300 ships. Several of these convoys were attacked, involving Gwinner in convoy battles for OS 4 (five ships sunk), OS 10 (one ship), SL 98 (1 escort sunk), SL 109 (attacking U-boats all beaten off, though one ship sunk) and SL 115 (where Gwinner and ''Lulworth'' destroyed the Italian submarine ''Pietro Calvi'', for which he was awarded the DSO). in April 1943 after a short spell back with ''Duncan'' Gwinner was given command of the sloop ''Woodcock'', and assigned to FJ Walker's 2nd Support Group. In July 1943 during operations in

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2SG engaged 3 U-boats on the surface; ''Woodcock'' shared in the destruction of ''U-462''. In November Gwinner took part in the destruction of ''U-226''. In February 1944 Gwinner took command of the frigate HMS ''Affleck'' as senior officer of 1st Escort Group, though operating mainly in a support group role. That month they destroyed ''U-91'', and in March 1944 destroyed ''U-358'' after a 39-hour hunt, one of the longest U-boat hunts of the war. Two weeks later Gwinner and 1EG destroyed ''U-392''. In June 1944 1EG was assigned to protect invasion forces during

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, the naval component of the D-day landings. During an action in the Channel, Gwinner was credited with a probable success, later confirmed and identified as ''U-1191''. In December ''Affleck'' was torpedoed and declared a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance a sub-branch of mari ...

;Blair Vol II, p636 Gwinner transferred his pennant to ''Balfour'', and continued operations, but had no more successes. In May 1945 Germany surrendered and hostilities in Europe ended.

Later life

At the end of the war Gwinner left the Royal Navy and moved to the US where he became director to an American container company, retiring in 1971. In 1969 his marriage ended; he married again two years later and moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He died there in 1998, aged 89.

Successes

Gwinner was credited with the destruction of seven enemy submarines in his war-time service.

Notes

References

* * * * *VE Tarrant :''The U-boat Offensive 1914–1945'' (1989)

External links

C Gwinner at unithistories.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwinner, Clive Royal Navy officers of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 1908 births 1998 deaths