William Charles Lyons
Cook William Charles Lyons – Naval Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy), H.M.S. “ORCHY”
Service and Death
William Charles Lyons served with the Naval
Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy) as a cook aboard H.M.S. “ORCHY”. He
died on 8th May 1944.
The Ship – H.M.S. “ORCHY”
H.M.S. Beauly and H.M.S. “ORCHY” were
formerly merchant vessels owned by William Sloan & Co. of Glasgow,
trading between the Clyde, Belfast, and Bristol. They were
strongly built, coal-burning ships of 1,000–1,500 tons, with high
bulwarks and a long forewell deck. Their top speed was 10.5 knots, and
they consumed between 12 and 24 tons of coal daily.H.M.S. “ORCHY”
After requisition by Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell, V.C.,
the vessels were renamed H.M.S. Looe and H.M.S. Antonine.
Conversion to Q-Ships
For their covert role as Q-Ships, vessels such as H.M.S.
“ORCHY” were outwardly disguised as ordinary merchantmen but were in
fact heavily armed. Their concealed arsenal included 4-inch guns
hidden behind dropping shutters in the holds, two 12-pounders—one openly
mounted on the poop deck and the other cleverly disguised as a deck crane—along
with two 18-inch torpedo tubes on the well deck. Additional firepower
came from two depth charge throwers and a row of depth charges
concealed in an aft deckhouse, while an Asdic sonar set and a degaussing
girdle provided defence against submarines and magnetic mines. Crewed by 70–80
officers and men, far more than a standard merchant ship, they could stage
a “panic party” to simulate abandonment, leaving behind sufficient crew
to operate the hidden weapons. To improve survivability, each vessel carried 700–800
tons of timber below decks to enhance buoyancy if struck.
Command and Conditions
Command of the H.M.S. Looe was given to Commander
Francis Halley Ashton, an experienced destroyer commander, while the H.M.S.
Antonine went to Commander Charles Vincent Jack, a retired
officer who had rejoined the Navy at the outbreak of war.
The ships were converted at Chatham Naval Dockyard,
but progress was delayed due to urgent repairs caused by the German magnetic
mine campaign. Although officers were appointed as early as October 1939,
they endured a harsh winter aboard partially converted ships, with the dockyard
basin even freezing over.
The work was finally completed in April 1940, when
both ships were commissioned for service.
Operations
The operational area of the H.M.S. Looe and H.M.S.
Antonine covered the North-Western Approaches, stretching
from Tory Island, off the coast of Ireland, to St Kilda
and the Flannan Islands, then north-eastwards to the Faroe Islands,
and south through the Orkneys and the Minches. Each patrol
typically lasted around ten days, after which the ships returned to port
for coal, provisions, and a brief rest. Coaling was
particularly arduous, taking no less than 12 hours, and each ship was
required to carry an additional 50 tons of coal as deck cargo.
Burial
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| William Charles Lyons Danygraig Cemetery credit - findagrave |
Legacy
Cook William Charles Lyons, serving aboard H.M.S. “ORCHY”,
shared the cramped, uncomfortable, and perilous conditions of Q-Ship crews. His
death on 8th May 1944 marked the sacrifice of a man whose
service took place in one of the most dangerous and secretive roles of the war.
He is buried at Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea, where
his name and service are remembered.
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