HMS ''Sir Galahad'' was a trawler built for the British

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 ...

in 1941. Post war it was sold into civilian service and was wrecked in 1957 after running aground off the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

Construction and war service

The vessel was built by

Hall, Russell & Company Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland. History Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boile ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

to a 1936 design of the same company. Although the design was for a trawler the ship was commissioned as a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

(

Pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

T226). Launched in December 1941 she was the second member of the . In March 1943 the ''Sir Galahad'' was one of the first ships to respond when the aircraft carrier sank in the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

. In 1944, having been converted to a

danlayer A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans. A dan is a marker buoy which consists of a long pole moored ...

, ''Sir Galahad'' was attached to the 14th Minesweeping Flotilla, part of Force U. The 14th Minesweeping Flotilla took part in

Operation Neptune Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the maritime part of the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

Post war

Decommissioned in February 1946, the ship was sold in April of the same year to the Walker Steam Trawling & Fishing Co Ltd of Aberdeen and renamed ''Star of Freedom'', her merchant marine registration number being A283. Walker's sold the vessel onto Milford Fisheries Ltd of

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

who renamed the ship again as the ''Robert Limbrick''.

Loss

Less than a year after purchase by Milford Fisheries Ltd, the ''Robert Limbrick'' was lost at sea with the loss of all 12 of her crew. She had sailed from Milford on 2 February 1957 under skipper William Burgoyne to fish for

hake Hake is the common name for fish in the Merlucciidae family of the northern and southern oceans and the Phycidae family of the northern oceans. Hake is a commercially important fish in the same taxonomic order, Gadiformes, as cod and haddo ...

off Scotland. On 5 February reports were received by

Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...

radio that the ship was aground off Quinish Point, Mull () and that the crew had abandoned ship. Despite a search by other vessels in the area and the lifeboat from

Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...

, no survivors were found and only two bodies were recovered at the time. The bodies of the rest of the crew were washed ashore over the next weeks. The ship's total loss was reported by the Salvage Association's surveyor on 7 February 1957 who reported:

Trawler Robert Limbrick, ashore Quinish Point, Mull: Survey shows vessel lying on port side, which not visible but damage to this side suspected extensive. Starboard side so far as visible severely damaged from forecastle to stem. Shell plating fractured from bulwark to keel and badly holed in way of fish hold also abreast of bridge. Deck fractured abreast of fish hold, stern frame broken, rudder missing, suspect propeller and tailshaft badly damaged. Engine-room and hull flooded and lifeboat badly stove in. Forward portion of vessel flexing with action of sea where fractured, not possible to board. Consider salvage impracticable. Further SW gales will accelerate vessel breaking up.

A memorial service was held for the crew at St Katherine's church, Milford Haven on 27 February 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Galahad 1941 ships Naval trawlers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1957 World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom Round Table-class trawlers Ships lost with all hands