Reprinted with permission from the book Hodge’s Cove by Eric Stringer, 2011
Name: STRINGER, Lester A.
Service #: LT/JX188827
Branch of Service: Royal Navy
Marital Status when enlisted: single
Duration of Service: December 1939 – May 1946
Medals Awarded:
- 1939-45 Star
- Atlantic Star w/ Atlantic Clasp
- Africa Star
- Italy Star
- Defense Medal
- War Medal 1939-45
- Volunteer Medal
Other noteworthy information: Uncle Les left Hodge’s Cove in late December 1939. At St. John’s he joined H.M.S. Newfoundland to sail for Southampton, England. From there he traveled by train to Portsmouth for training.
After a brief period of specialty training, the call went out to Newfoundlanders only for volunteers for mine sweeping. Uncle Les was one of those chosen.
As can be seen in the “Itinerary” chart that follows, his first two and a half years were spent in and around the North Atlantic. In fact, this was so for the majority of his naval career.
But there was a short time which had him back on this side. Along with others of his ilk, in early October 1942 they sailed to Brooklyn, New York and from there by train to Seattle, Washington. Their Pacific journey took them southward through the ports of San Diego and Los Angeles. Then they went on through the Panama Canal en route to the Dakar and Freetown area in British West Africa.
Uncle Les’s primary duty as a Royal Navy serviceman was in the field of mine sweeping.
The following information lists are taken from his official discharge papers (which were actually linen). A note of explanation is required to help interpret some of the data presented. One asterisk (*) refers to time spent in the barracks. This actually was not at sea at all, rather, the exercises were of a training nature and were done on land. Two asterisks (**) indicates activity on a depot ship. Here actual mine sweeping at sea was done. The notation (BYMS##) denotes Brooklyn Yard Mine Sweeper (the term Brooklyn Yard may possibly have been a factory where the technology was developed, and the term BYMS (pronounced bims) might indicate a naval base from which operations were run.)
In fairness, at the time of my chatting with Uncle Les about this stuff, he was seventy-four years of age. Fifty-plus years had passed since his tenure in the Royal Navy; this, it is quite understandable that all events are not presented here. After all, …
The following information has been taken from an official document Uncle Les has:
- * Victory March 8, 1940 – April 4, 1940
- * Europa April 5, 1940 – April 22, 1940
- ** Cochrane April 23, 194 – November 25, 1941
- ** Cleaver House 26, 1941 – Dec. 31, 1941
- ** Cleaver House January 1, 1942 – February 2, 1942
- ** Cleaver House February 3, 1942 – Feb., 1942
- * Europa February 24, 1942 – April 6, 1942
- * Saker II (BYMS 22) April 7, 1942 – October 3, 1942
- * Saker (BYMS 22) October 31, 1942 – Feb. 28,1943
- ** Edinborough Castle (BYMS 5) March 1, 1943 – July 9, 1943
- ** Philostetes II July 10, 1943 – September 20,1943
- ** Edinborough Castle (BYMS 10) Sept. 21, 1943 – Oct. 31, 1943
- ** McCampus November 1, 1943 – January 31, 1944
- * Fann February 1, 1944 – April 30, 1944
- * Fann (BYMS 2018) May 1, 1944 – July 8, 1944
- * Europa July 9, 1944 – December 27, 1944
- ** Paris December 28, 1944 – December 30, 1944
- ?????? December 31, 1944 – January 2, 1945
- ** Marshall Sault (BYMS 2254) January 13, 1945 – March 20, 1945
- * Europa March 21, 1945 – June 12, 1945
- * Avalon III June 13, 1945 – August 3, 1945
- * Europa August 4, 1945 – January 7, 1946
- * Avalon III January 8, 1946 – May 2, 1946
Released in Class A
Character Ratings Date Signature
Very Good Dec. 31, 1940 Capt. H. G. Benson
Very Good Dec. 31, 1941 (Sig. unintelligible)
Good Dec. 31, 1942 J. L. Freake
Very Good Dec. 31, 1943 (Sig. unintelligible)
Very Good Dec. 31, 1944 ?. ?. Legge
Very Good Dec. 31, 1945 ????
Very Good May 26, 1946 ?. ?. Brennan
As well, a Good Conduct Badge was granted on February 24, 1944
(as prepared by Eric Stringer with Uncle Les’s corroboration)