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H.M.S Forth

pollypops

pollypops

master brummie
I have an old newspaper picture of a relative serving in WW1 - underneath his name it says H.M.S Forth.
Is there anyone on here who knows anything about WW1 ships? What is the best way of finding more information?
Thanks, Polly :)
 
Hi Pollypops: Lots of info about H.M.S. Forth if you Google the name. Pictures and contacts, etc.
 
Thanks jennyann, I have looked but it is rather confusing - there have been quite a few HMS Forths - in both wars. In WW1, I have read that the HMS forth was a Submarine Depot Ship and also that it is was a Mersey class Cruiser. As this makes no sense to me I was hoping that someone on here may have knowledge of Ships or be able to tell me the best way to research my relatives past (I do not even know if he came home) Thanks for your interest in my post.
Polly :)
 
This is the WW1 HMS Forth, the next Forth was also a Submarine Depot Ship which spent many years moored in Msida Creek Malta.
 
The picture that Darby has printed is definately the Forth serving throughout WW1. She was the fourth ship to bear the name, launched in 1886 and sold off in 1921. The submarine depot ship served from 1938 through to 1985 when she was scrapped.
The Mersey Class cruisers were also know by the serving sailors as "River Boats" due to their names all being rivers. There is little information about the class but some of the others were Severn, Thames, Isis, Mersey & Tyne.

These are the only pictures I have of the WW1 Forth. I hope they are of interest to you

View attachment 48278 View attachment 48279 View attachment 48280
 
Thank you all so much for your help. So the pictures you have all put on here are all of the same ship, it is the one that my relative served on in WW1 and it was a submarine depot ship? (sorry, just want to get this right :rolleyes:). Does anyone know how I can find out any information about him/ if he came home?
I love the crest!
Thanks Polly :)
 
pollypops said:
Thank you all so much for your help. So the pictures you have all put on here are all of the same ship, it is the one that my relative served on in WW1 and it was a submarine depot ship? (sorry, just want to get this right :rolleyes:). Does anyone know how I can find out any information about him/ if he came home?
I love the crest!
Thanks Polly :)
Click to expand...

Yes this is the one your relative served on but it is a "Mersey Class Cruiser" not a submarine depot ship.
 
From the above info.I was able to trace every ship he was on, and where he was in the world at any given time.
 
Darby said:
Now I'm confused, the third photo clearly shows Boats tied up alongside.
Click to expand...
I'm glad I'm not the only one. This is why I kept getting confused when trying to research it by myself. Different sites said different things and gave different pictures and as I have NO knowledge of Ships, I couldn't work it out :confused2:
Polly
 
I've Just looked at the pics again (It's been years since I last looked at them) and I also became confused. However I think I've solved the problem. I've looked through my books and it seems that "Forth" although launched as a Mersey Class Cruiser was converted to a Submarine Tender in 1912. However, the Submarine support ship of WWII was a different ship as pictured below.

View attachment 48310
 
So that is why it is so confusing - it IS the same Ship but it looks different in some photos and sometimes is called a Mersey Class cruiser and sometimes a Submarine depot Ship because it was changed. So are all the previous photos the WW1 HMS Forth apart from the one you just posted?
Thank you for all the time you have spent working this out for me.
Polly :)
 
pollypops said:
so that is why it is so confusing - it is the same ship but it looks different in some photos and sometimes is called a mersey class cruiser and sometimes a submarine depot ship because it was changed. So are all the previous photos the ww1 hms forth apart from the one you just posted?
Thank you for all the time you have spent working this out for me.
Polly :)
Click to expand...

yes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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