HMS ''Bronington'' is a former of the

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 ...

, named HMS ''Humber'' between 1954 and 1958. This

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

-hulled minesweeper was one of the last of the wooden-hulled naval vessels. Decommissioned in 1988, she was subsequently a museum ship, but sank at Birkenhead in 2016.

History

''Bronington'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 30 May 1951 by Cook, Welton & Gemmell at Beverley,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Built on the

River Hull The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops o ...

, she was launched on 19 March 1953 and was commissioned as HMS ''Humber'' on 4 June 1954. ''Humber'' spent four years in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

, serving as part of the 101st Minesweeping Squadron. Reverting to her original name in 1958, the vessel was converted into a minehunter at

Rosyth Dockyard Rosyth Dockyard is a large Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which formerly undertook refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels and submarines. Before its privatisation i ...

between 1963 and 1965, and was commissioned to, initially, the 5th Minesweeper Squadron, and then the 1st Mine Countermeasures Squadron on 5 January 1967.

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

commanded the vessel between 9 February and 15 December 1976. Subsequently, under the command of his successor, Lieutenant A B Gough, ''Bronnington'' ran aground in the River Avon while departing from Bristol. During the late 1980s, the vessel saw service in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

as part of 2nd Mine Counter Measures Squadron, with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

as part of the Standing Naval Force Channel and also as a fishery protection vessel. After being decommissioned from service, the ship was purchased in January 1989 by the Bronington Trust, a registered charity whose patron is the King. For some time, the ship was berthed in the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

and was open to visitors for ten years. On 11 July 2002, she became part of the collection of the Warship Preservation Trust and was moored at

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

. After the closure of the Warship Preservation Trust, she remained in storage, formerly alongside the at Vittoria Dock, and latterly in the West Float of Birkenhead Docks. On 17 March 2016, ''Bronington'' sank at her moorings.

Preservation

In December 2021 the HMS Bronington Preservation Trust was formed with the aim of raising and preserving the vessel. As of 2023, the ship is still partially submerged. The preservation trust commissioned a dive survey in June 2022 to establish the state of the vessel. The survey revealed the vessel to be in good condition, with only two minor holes in the hull. Subject to fund raising, the trust hopes to move the vessel to a dry dock at

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

where she will be restored, either for sailing or for use as a static museum exhibit. In June 2023, the

National Museum of the Royal Navy The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating ...

said that there are potential locations in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, which could be considered if the restoration effort is successful.

References

External links

About HMS ''Bronington''HMS ''Bronington'' at National Historic Ships Register
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronington Ton-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy 1953 ships Cold War minesweepers of the United Kingdom Museum ships in the United Kingdom Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet Maritime incidents in 2016 Charles III