Following interest from a number of the Dido class cruiser ship's company, or their relatives, I am intending to put up some pages about her. This might be a long business, as I have no material of my own to work from, nor do I know a great deal about her. So please, if you or a relative were on the cruiser Sirius, and have stories or photographs, please email me copies.

Some scanning tips - scan at 150 dpi (dots per inch), and save as a jpeg (.jpg), this should create a file with adequate resolution that is not too big. See my scanning tips page for details. Contact me if you have any queries.

I am UK based. If you wish I will scan photos for you (no charge). Email me for details. (Caveat - whilst I will take care of the material as if it were my own, I can accept no liability for loss or damage. Use recorded delivery when posting.)

Isaac Newton, 

Information.

HMS Sirius, a Dido Class Light Cruiser, was built at Portsmouth Dockyard and was launched 18 September 1940. The completion of the ship was delayed by heavy bombing of the area. She was completed in May 1942 and joined the Home Fleet. Until August when she headed for the Mediterranean to take part in Operation Pedestal. The South Atlantic was the next destination, patroling against Axis blockade runners on the Far East route. November saw her return to Gibraltar to take part in the North African landings Operation Torch. Sirius remained in and around the Med. until September the following year, when she took part in the occupation of Taranto before transferring to the Adriatic. On the 5th October 1943, she helped annihilate a German convoy in the Dodecanese. Sirius was badly damaged by bombs off Scarpunto Island on 17th October, and sailed to Massawa for repairs. These were carried out between November 1943 and February 1944.

The ship returned to Britain for Operation Overlord, the Normandy landings, as part of the reserve of the Eastern Task Force. In August 44 she returned to Mediterranean waters for Operation Dragoon, the landings in the South of France. Sirius returned to the Aegean and was present during the reoccupation of Athens in October 1944.

After the War HMS Sirius remained with the Mediterranean Fleet. After refit at Portsmouth in 1946, Sirius joined the Home Fleet in March 1947. She was paid off in 1949 and was put up for disposal in 1956. On 15 October 1956 Sirius arrived at the yard of Hughes Bolkow, Blyth and was broken up.

(Coped verbatim from www.wartimememories.co.uk. A site to be visited. Thankyou Angela)

Lesley Robinson (far right, arms folded), Desmond Jones in middle at back

Matthew Palmer

Matthew Palmer, grandson of Desmond Jones. Some of these are from James Robinson, son of Lesley Robinson

Matthew Palmer, 

Matthew Palmer, 

This Sirius precedes even the Dido Class Cruiser. Built by Armstrong Whitworth in 1892, she was an Apollo class protected cruiser, approx 3500 tons. 314 ft long, 43 ft beam. Twin screw & 9000hp gave her 20 knots. Armament: 2-6", 6-4.7", and smaller guns, 4-14" torpedo tubes, complement 273.

Served in WW1 in 1914, 1915 West & South Africa, and used as a blockship in Ostend in 1918.

Photo supplied by Jock Havlin & www.navyphotos.co.uk .

Details supplied by Gilgamesh. (For which, many thanks.)

Beam view of the wartime Sirius

Photo supplied by Jock Havlin  & www.navyphotos.co.uk. 

Sirius during the Home Fleet cruise 1948. Photo supplied by Ken Voller, in Vancouver.

A dramatic starboard bow view of the cruiser Sirius. There's no doubt the older ships looked better

Photo supplied by Jock Havlin  & www.navyphotos.co.uk. 

Sirius 1942

Crossing the Line

Sirius officers 1943

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