HMS Achilles
A Leander-class light cruiser, HMS (later HMNZS) Achilles displaced 7270 tons, measured 555 ft (169 m) in length and was capable of 32 knots. It was armed with eight 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four turrets, four 4-inch (102 mm) secondary guns and eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, and also carried a seaplane.
Following its role in the Battle of the River Plate, Achilles underwent repairs in Auckland before escorting troop convoys and operating against Japanese forces in the southwest Pacific. During operations with US Navy forces off Guadalcanal on 5 January 1943, the ship was damaged by a Japanese air attack that killed 13 crewmen. While undergoing repairs in Portsmouth in June that year, an accidental explosion killed several dock workers and caused further damage. In 1945 Achilles joined the British fleet in the Pacific. The ship reverted to Royal Navy control in 1946 and two years later was transferred to the Royal Indian Navy, becoming INS Delhi. It was finally scrapped in 1976.
Credit
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-049007-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.
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My Uncle Frederick Stanley from Hastings was a senior Cook on the Achilles. He passed away in 1977 with Throat Cancer - which he suffered for some time with. I have been passed all his service photos etc and there a many of his times on the Achilles. He always talked of the good friends he made on his different journeys. He was also on the Bellona and some others. I wish I had asked him more about his times in service with the Navy and his many many trips away.
My Dad, Roy Waide, was a stoker at the Battle of River Plate and is still alive. He was part of the crew that brought the Achilles to NZ originally. He retired in 1959 as Chief Petty Officer Stoker. He is now 94 but in failing health. He also went to Ngasaki and to the Christmas Island bomb tests. He was on Leander when she was torpedoed in the Solomons. To my knowledge there are only 4 places left on the Honours Board at the Naval Museum and when those 4 persons die the board will be complete. Sad, eh? I have recently done a big display at the Karapiro Armistice Day celebrations and try to keep their memories alive in this way.
Thanks for your reply as it is hard to get info on the remaining crew.
My Dad was on the Achilles until about 1942 when he was transferred to a minesweeper in the pacific. After that he returned to the Achilles until it was handed back to the poms so he was also there and has the photos of Nagasaki.
My Dad is in a nursing home in Blenheim now returning there after 70 years living in Auckland. He is 97 in January and still alert for he age but memory is a problem.
I assume that your Dad has passed on. The last info I have is that 7 were still around but that was 2 years ago.
I am hoping to see my Dad in January at this stage but depends on the airfare cost as I live in Cairns.
Do trust that this gives you some extra info.
Kevin.
I'd like to reply to Kevin Heffer and mention that my Father Peter Sanders was Leading Stoker on board the Leander until it was hit by a Japanese Long Lance Torpedo in July 1943. He was on aft steering at the time and was not hurt. He then was transferred to the Achilles at Baltimore, USA and served further right to the time when the Occupation Forces landed in Japan in 1945. He has photos of the Nagasaki Atom Bomb effects.
I am interested to know who many of the original crew are living. I do know that my Dad CPO Harold Heffer is the highest rank still living.
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