HMS Tanatside (L69) - part one

 HMS Tanatside was a Royal Navy Type 3 Hunt Class destroyer, taking her name from a North Wales foxhunt, and adopted by the people of Cardiganshire (as it was known at the time) which included the regions of Tregaron, Aberaeron, New Quay, Aberystwyth and Teifiside. The ship itself was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd in Scotstoun, Scotland, and was ordered in July 1940.  Laid down on the 23rd of June 1941 as Job No 1869, she was launched on the 30th April 1942 and finally commissioned on 4th September 1942 after being adopted by the Cardiganshire people in March of that year.

Tanatside’s role was escort destroyer, designed to be cheap and easily built to be able to carry out convey escort and anti-submarine duties. As such, she had four dual purpose QF 4 of Mark XVI guns, as well as other anti-aircraft weaponry and 110 depth charges. Given her size, she only had a complement of 168 men including officers. The cost of the class was £352,000 per ship (£17,012,613.76 in today’s money) which makes it amazing that the towns of Ceredigion managed to finance the ship.

HMS Tanatside. Image from IWM website

 

Warship Week was a National Savings campaign during the Second World War designed by the Government to raise funds to produce new warships, ranging from escort destroyers - like the Tanatside - to larger battleships and auxiliary vessels. This was to replace warships that were destroyed. According to History Today, 254 Major Warships and over a thousand minor war/auxiliary vessels were lost over duration of the war.   As such, building these ships would cost large amounts of money, requiring the help of the British people to avoid the even larger loans needed to sustain the replacement of these vessels. However, it was not just necessary to replace losses; the need for new ships for escort duties, such as in the Atlantic, was paramount to sustain the war effort and this was the main purpose for Hunt-Class Destroyers such as the Tanatside.  

The fundraising for these ships would be conducted locally in villages, towns and cities, with each one raising enough for a particular class of vessel.  The big cities was given the goal of raising money for the largest vessels (Capital ships) including battleships and aircraft carriers, while large towns would aim to raise funds for cruisers and destroyers. The smaller towns and villages would be set a lower figure but all were proportional to the size of the area. Once the funds were reached, the community would adopt the ship and a plaque signifying the adoption was given to the vessel.  The plaque for the Tanatside is shown below but its current location is so far a mystery. 

 

According to the Cambrian News and Welsh Farmers Gazette of 16th January 1942, a conference at Aberayron (Aberaeron) on the previous Saturday “unanimously” decided to hold the Warship Week in Cardiganshire from 14th to 21st March. It was made known to the public that the objective was to raise enough for a Hunt Class Destroyer at £400,000 (technically more than was needed, as discussed above). This was originally £350,000 but was considered by Alderman Llewelyn Samuel (Aberystwyth) to be a “paltry sum”, and he believed it should be doubled. But Alderman J. Barclay Jenkins thought this too high and wanted a lower figure, believing it would be better to succeed at a smaller amount than fail at a larger one. The precise amount for Aberystwyth was revealed in the paper on January 30th, which was £150,000, with the other areas revealed on 13th of March,  including Cardigan £50,000, Lampeter £40,000, Aberayron & New Quay £50,000, Teifiside £45,000, and Tregaron £25,000.

The conference itself consisted of representatives from all the main savings groups (of which there were 251 by 16th of January) and convened by the High Sheriff,  Prof. J. Caio Evans. The interest itself was also expected to be high due to “Cardiganshire’s traditions as a seafaring community” in the words of the Assistant Regional Director Mr H.S.I. Edwards. He was not just involved in Cardiganshire but also with rural Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire, which wanted to raise £400,000 and £500,000 respectively for their own Warship Week. Apart from the historical past and good performance in the previous War Weapons Weeks, the Regional Commissioner, Mr D. A. Worgan, noted that this campaign was not, and did not want to give the impression of, “donate[ing] gifts to the government”; it was an honour and duty. He cited the difference between the British Government and totalitarian countries, where the former was a request for aid whereas the latter forced their people to contribute. Another important aspect he mentioned would be donations as a mark of appreciation to the men of the Navy, quite the motivator given those local men and women who served in the Royal Navy.

Those involved in the conference also included Alderman T.L. Old, Mayor of Aberystwyth, Mr F.R. Gregg (Lampeter), Mr Eifion Price (New Quay), Mr Gwyn Evans (Llanfair), Mr John Jones (Llandyssul) and Alderman Meredith Williams.   Mr Worgan (Regional Commissioner), suggested the appointment of area/group committees, arrangement of leaflets, planning of the publicity campaign as well as parade and entertainment committees, as an “attractive” indicator for both local and county to show and track the progress of the fundraising efforts.  

As to the methods of how the money would be raised, one such was the 3 per cent savings bonds and the 2 ½ per cent National War bonds for larger investors. As for the smaller ones, the Post Office Savings Bank, where 2 ½ per cent interest could be obtained as well as Savings Certificates, meant a whole family could participate in the fundraising. This was done by each member buying 500 and this was also free of Income Tax. In addition, for both the large and small investors, there was the option of loans to the Government which were free of interest. Also, people could invest in in 3% Defence bonds as well as buying Savings Stamps at 6d (6 pence) and 2/6d (2 shillings and sixpence) each from the Post Office or Savings Groups. The bonds were put across to the public/investors as being of mutual benefit, making themselves a ‘nest-egg’ and ‘reaping’ interest on savings while helping to provide the seamen of the Royal Navy with ships, guns and aircraft to protect vital convoys and help win the war.  

This was pushed again on March 6th, saying that the goal would not just be reached, but exceeded because the money being donated by the average person was an investment with a “regular rate of interest” and had the “utmost security” from the Government. While the accuracy of such statements can be debated, it was clear that the authorities were taking no chances and appealing to multiple groups. It even discusses it being better than keeping money in the house that could be potentially lost due to fire or enemy action such as bombings whereas the Government could provide safety for a person’s money but also use it to protect them.

Other posters said how important the Navy was to the people of Cardiganshire personally. This included a poster issued on 13th March saying that people’s food, work and life depended on the Royal Navy’s “Vigil” and to encourage them to contribute. As such, this would help to create a social contract between the Navy and the people, making those who may not want to get involved otherwise feel obliged to help. This strikes a contrast between the original messages of honour and heritage but it is surmisable that this was not aimed at that group. One such group with a scheme of its own was the Pearl Assurance Co., Ltd., whereby any client paying the 1st out of 13 instalments, the company itself would purchase 3% Savings Bonds to any amount desired and said amount would be allocated to the scheme.

Photo from Cambrian News

 

Apart from advertising in the Cambrian News, there were also events and public meetings. For example, on March 17th, the Borth Savings Group held a public meeting in the Public Hall at 7 p.m. with retired Royal Navy Instructor Captain Farr as the speaker. At the meeting, a 2/6 (two shillings and sixpence) Savings Stamp was given to six holders of “Lucky Number Leaflets”.

As to the Opening Day in Aberystwyth, the main event was the parade and procession of men in the armed forces as well as those in the Civil Defence Units and all the organisations working for the war efforts. The parade was mainly under the direction of three people, Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis Jones, RA., Wing-Commander Thomas, RAF., and Lieutenant Davies on behalf of the Navy Personnel. It was headed by a drum and fife band starting at 2.30 pm, with its route going from Alexandra road through Thespian street, North Parade, Great Darkgate street and finally to Marine Terrace, near the (as it was then) saluting base opposite the Bandstand. The salute was taken by an Admiral H.W.W. Hope and the commanding officers of the units in the procession. Other events included a “grand” dance for Warship week on Wednesday 18th March.

Regardless of the effectiveness of the mixture between honour, duty, bribery and other persuasive messages, all of Cardiganshire exceeded their aims with Lampeter raising double its target. The total raised was £563,930 (£27,255,463.85 in today’s money), more than £163,930 more than originally aimed for. Aberystwyth itself raised £201,241 10 Shillings which worked out at £8 9s (shillings) 8d (pence) per head of the population.  The breakdown of the investments in Aberystwyth were also given in the Cambrian News, with £48,216 in National Savings Certificates, £14,787, 10s in Post Office Savings Bank Deposits, £988 in Savings Bonds, £64,110 in 3% Defence Bonds, £50,750 in 2 ½% National War Bonds and £18,960 in 3% Savings Bonds. For the final few methods, £3,420 was in Free of Interest Loans along with the “Free Gift” of £10.

As to the groups themselves, the parishes of the area, St. Michael’s, St. Mary’s (including the Mother’s Union and G.F.S. at £1,616 and £760 respectively) and St. Anne’s at £282 totalling at £2,658 with Salem C.M. Church raising £2,337. In addition, Ardwyn School raised £1,100 with the Zoology Department in the U.C.W (University College Wales, now Aberystwyth University) raising £362 and the Cambrian News staff raising £220. While there were many individual groups, the breakdown of every single group was reported  in the Cambrian News and Welsh Farmers Gazette, April 3 1942. The largest contributor was North Parade at £1,139 with the second, South Gate, raising £612. The rest of the group breakdowns are also available in the same newspaper on the same date.

So where did Cardiganshire come overall? Comparing it with the other Welsh counties with a population under 500,000, Cardiganshire raised £9, 10 s, 10d per head of the population, coming fifth after Montgomeryshire, Merioneth, Breconshire and Radnorshire in order from highest to lowest.
Montgomeryshire raised a staggering £14, 8 shillings and 9 pence per head yet, looking at the final placings out of the 31 similar counties in both England and Wales, Montgomeryshire came 2nd, Merioneth 4th with Cardiganshire coming 12th.  But, despite the gap between the other Welsh counties, Cardiganshire certainly did not slack in its assistance to the war effort. Adding together Warship Week and the previous War Weapons Week in 1941, the money raised was £1,206,246 which is an admirable effort considering the size of Cardiganshire. The value of this money today would be £58,299,424.13, a massive sum even if others did beat it, but it shows the efforts that Cardiganshire/Ceredigion as well as the rest of the United Kingdom put into the war effort.   

Photo from Cambrian News

Blog by Max Bates