Stanley Ayres – Naval Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy) - H.M.S. Dasher

Carpenter’s Mate Stanley Ayres – Naval Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy), H.M.S. Dasher

Stanley Ayres

Some Merchant Navy seamen also served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and Stanley Ayres was one of them. Born in 1921 in Swansea, Stanley was the son of Alfred Ayers and Winifred Porter, who married in 1920. Little documentation survives regarding Stanley’s childhood or early working life, a common circumstance for many wartime seafarers. In October 1941, he married Elizabeth A. Adams.

Service with Naval Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy)

Stanley served as a Carpenter’s Mate with the Naval Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy) and was posted to the escort carrier H.M.S. Dasher. Carpenter’s Mates played a vital role aboard naval vessels, supporting damage control, maintaining woodwork and fittings, and assisting with emergency repairs—especially crucial aboard aircraft carriers.

H.M.S. Dasher

H.M.S. Dasher

H.M.S. Dasher was an Avenger-class escort carrier, originally built in the United States and transferred to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease. She provided air cover for convoys and operated in the North Atlantic, where the threat from German U-boats was severe.

The Tragedy of 27^th March 1943

On 27^th March 1943, H.M.S. Dasher was destroyed by a sudden internal explosion while operating in the Firth of Clyde. The blast—believed to have been caused by an aviation fuel vapour leak—ripped through the ship, which sank within minutes. The disaster claimed 379 lives, making it one of the worst wartime naval tragedies in British home waters. Due to wartime censorship, little information was released at the time. Carpenter’s Mate Stanley Ayres was among those who lost their lives.

Commemoration

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Herald of Wales

Stanley Ayres
Liverpool Naval Memorial
credit - findagrave

As Stanley has no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Liverpool Naval Memorial, which honours Royal Navy and Naval Auxiliary personnel lost at sea during the Second World War.
The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records also formally record his death, providing independent confirmation of his service and sacrifice.
The Herald of Wales later published a photograph of Stanley along with a tribute written by Mr Cyril F. Davies, ensuring his loss was acknowledged within his local community.

Legacy

Stanley Ayres’ death forms part of one of the most significant naval losses in British waters. His service as a Merchant Navy carpenter assigned to a Royal Navy vessel highlights the essential and often overlooked contribution of skilled civilian seafarers to wartime naval operations. His name, preserved on the Liverpool Naval Memorial, stands as a lasting reminder of the bravery of Swansea’s wartime seafarers.