RCN River class Frigates: HMCS Meon (K269), HMCS Monnow (K441), HMCS Ste. Thérèse (K366), HMCS Stettler (K681)
HMCS Meon (K269)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Meon (K269) River class Frigate. Named after an English river, HMS Meon was commissioned on 31 Dec 1943 at Glasgow and sailed on 16 Jan 1944, with convoy ON.220 for Canada. Transferred to the RCN, she was commissioned in the RCN at Halifax on 7 Feb 1944, and in Apr 1944 worked up in St. Margaret’s Bay. In May 1944 she was assigned to EG 9 and sailed with convoy HXM.289 to join EG 9 in Londonderry. For the next five months she was employed in UK coastal waters, and was present on D-Day. She was then transferred to the EG 27, Halifax, as Senior Officer’s ship, arriving there on 19 Oct 1944. Employed locally until 31 Mar 1945, she then left Halifax to join convoy HX.347 on passage to Britain, and was returned to the RN at Southampton on 23 Apr 1945 . In 1946 HMS Meon joined the reserve fleet and remained at Harwich until 1952. She then saw active service in the Suez campaign of 1956, and with the Amphibious Warfare Squadron in the Persian Gulf, before being paid off in 1965. On 14 May 1966 HMS Meon (L369) arrived at Hughes Bolckow, Blyth for breaking up.
HMCS Monnow (K441)
(IWM Photo, A 22680)
HMCS Monnow (K441) River class Frigate, as HMS Monnow. Laid down as HMS Monnow, named after an English river, she was transferred newly built to the RCN at Bristol on 8 Mar 1944. Following workups at Tobermory in Apr 1944, HMCS Monnow joined EG C-2 in May and served with that group until Aug 1944, when she was re-assigned to EG 9, Londonderry. She served throughout her career in UK waters except for a round trip to Gibraltar in Oct 1944, and to Kola Inlet with convoys JW.62 and RA.62 in Nov and Dec 1944. On 13 May 1945, she left Greenock to pick up JW.67 for North Russia but was detached the next day to escort surrendered U-boats en route from Trondheim to Loch Eriboll. She left Londonderry on 25 May 1945 for Sheerness, where on 11 Jun 1945 she was paid off and returned to the RN. In Oct 1945 she was sold to the Danish Navy and re-named Holger Danske. Holger Danske is a Danish symbol of the resistance, will, and fighting spirit when Denmark is in danger. She was used as a cadet training ship. As some of the cadets during the (German) occupation were connected to the resistance group “Holger Danske”, there were additional reasons to include the freedom fighters’ symbol on this ship’s badge. She was broken up at Odense, Denmark in 1959. HMCS Monnow was one of two among the larger RCN warships that never saw a Canadian port.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Monnow (K441) River class Frigate.
HMCS Ste. Thérèse (K366)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Ste. Thérèse (K366) River class Frigate. Built by Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co. Ltd., HMCS Ste. Thérèse (K366) was commissioned on 28 May 1944, at Lévis, Quebec. She arrived at Halifax early in Jul 1944 and, after preliminary workups in St. Margaret’s Bay, NS, proceeded to Bermuda to complete the process. Returning n mid-Aug 1944, HMCS Ste. Therese left Halifax in late Oct 1944 to join convoy HX.317 for passage to Londonderry. There she joined EG 25 and served with it in UK waters until Feb 1945, when she was re-assigned to EG 28, Halifax. She served locally with EG 28 until the end of the war, and on 22 Nov 1945 was paid off at Sydney, NS, and placed in reserve at Shelburne, NS. She re-commissioned on 22 Jan 1955, after conversion to a Prestonian class ocean escort (309), finally being paid off at Esquimalt on 30 Jan 1967. She was broken up in Japan that year.
HMCS Stettler (K681)
(DND Photo)
HMCS Stettler (K681) River class Frigate. Built by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, HMCS Stettler was commissioned on 7 May 1944, at Montreal. She arrived at Halifax on 28 May 1944 then carried out workups in Bermuda in Jul 1944. On her return to Halifax she was assigned to EG 16. On 7 Mar 1945, she left for Londonderry, EG 16’s new base, and was thereafter employed in UK waters except for two round trips to Gibraltar in May and Jun 1945. She left ‘Derry for home on 16 Jun 1945, the last Canadian warship to do so, and began tropicalization refit at Shelburne, NS. Work was suspended in Aug 1945 and the ship was paid off 9 Nov 1945. She was sold but later recovered and converted to a Prestonian class ocean escort (311), being re-commissioned on 27 Feb 1954. In the Spring of 1966, HMCS Stettler participated in exercise Maple Spring along with HMCS Grilse and HMCS St. Croix, with port visits along the east coast of South America. She subsequently moved to the west coast, and was finally paid off there on 31 Aug 1966. She was purchased by Capital Iron and Metal, Victoria, BC, in 1967 to be broken up. Shortly after purchase the price of scrap metal plummeted and she was not broken up late 1971, early 1972.