HMCS BUCKINGHAM K685 / 314

 

River Class / Prestonian Class Frigate

 


 

HMCS Buckingham 314 after conversion to a Prestonian Class Frigate

 

Battle honours and awards:  Atlantic  1945

 

 

Laid down: 10 Nov 1943

Re-named: 05 Apr 1944

Launched: 28 Apr 1944

Commissioned: 02 Nov 1944

Paid off: 16 Nov 1945

Sold: to Marine Industries Ltd:

Re-acquired by RCN: 

Re-commissioned 25 Jun 1954

Paid off: 23 Mar 1965

Fate: Broken up 1966

 

Laid down as HMCS ROYALMOUNT, she was renamed BUCKINGHAM on 05 Apr 1944. Commissioned on 02 Nov 1944, at Quebec City, she proceeded to the east coast and sailed from Halifax on 18 Dec 1944 for Bermuda to work up. She returned in mid-Jan 1945, and in Feb 1945 was assigned to EG 28, as a member of which she carried out escort and patrol duty out of Halifax until VE-Day. In May she arrived at Shelburne, escorting the surrendered U 889. In Jun 1945 she began a tropicalization refit at Liverpool, N.S., continuing it at Shelburne until 20 Aug 1945, when it was suspended. Buckingham was paid off on 16 Nov 1945 at Sydney and placed in reserve at Shelburne until 1946, when she was sold to Marine Industries Ltd.

 

Re-acquired by the RCN, she was converted to a Prestonian class ocean escort, 1953-54, and re-commissioned for training purposes. Further modified by the addition of a helicopter landing deck aft, she carried out, Oct-Dec 1956, trials preliminary to the design of the destroyer helicopter carriers. On 13 Feb 1959, HMCS FORT ERIE, HMCS BUCKINGHAM,  HMCS SWANSEA and HMCS LA HULLOISE returned to Halifax after a 5 week exercise in southern waters that included a port visit to Kingston, Jamaica. In Apr 1963, 12 RCN ships, ALGONQUIN, MICMAC, CAYUGA, ST CROIX, TERRA NOVA, KOOTENAY, SWANSEA, LA HULLOISE, BUCKINGHAM, CAPE SCOTT, CFAV BLUETHROAT and CNAV ST CHARLES, took part in NATO Exercise New Broom Eleven, an exercise designed to test convoy protection tactics (click here to see the newspaper article). She was paid off for the last time on 23 Mar 1965. On 22 Mar 1966, BUCKINGHAM left Halifax under tow and arrived at Le Spezia on 11 Apr 1966 for scrapping.

 


 

Photos and Documents          Battle for Convoy BX-141

 


 

Commanding Officers

 

A/LCdr M.H. Wallace, RCNR - 02 Nov 1944 - 07 Nov 1945

Lt R.M. Montague, RCNVR - 08 Nov 1945 - 16 Nov 1945

LCdr John William Roberts, RCN - 25 Jun 1954 - 07 Sep 1955

LCdr T.E. Connord, RCN - 08 Sep 1955 - 30 Sep 1957

LCdr Donald Mackay MacLennan, RCN - 06 May 1958 - unk

LCdr T.L. Hebbert - 14 Dec 1959 - unk

LCdr R.F. Choat, RCN - 15 Sep 1962 - 07 Jun 1963

LCdr Charles Edmund M. Leighton, RCN - 08 Jun 1963 - 31 Mar 1964

LCdr Norman Shuttleworth Jackson, RCN - 01 Apr 1964 - 10 Jan 1965

Lt Edmund George Alfred Bowkett, RCN - 11 Jan 1965 - 15 Jan 1965

Lt (S) J.T. Stuart, RCN (OIC) - 16 Jan 1965 - 23 Mar 1965

 


 

     In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice    

     Lest We Forget     

 

MARSVYTIS (MAKSVYTIS), Joseph D.W.

OS, RCN

died - 20 Mar 1961

 


 

     In memory of those who have crossed the bar    

They shall not be forgotten

 

Achen, John M.

Bagshaw, Lawrence B.

Baillargeon, Raymond G.

Bain, Kenneth H.

Barna, Bohdan

Benson, George F. A.

Black, Alan

Bowman, Donavin B.

Burdeyny, William

Bush, Charles L.

Carruthers, John G.

Choat, Russell F.

Clark, David W.

Combo, Stuart

Cottenden, Harry R.

Cox, Edward C.

Cox, Thomas

Daniels, Robert H.

Doherty, Raymond E.

Fenson, Morley

Fox, James H.

Gilbert, Kenneth M.

Grant, Kenneth E.

Green, George C.

Hachey, George J.

Haigh, James D.

Hart, William E.

Hill, Gerald H.

Irvine, Thomas A.

Kitchen, Herbert B.

Kosonic, Edward R.

Lalonde, Maurice J. A.

Landversitch, Blake

Leslie, Gerald G.

Luck, Thomas C.

Maloney, Gerald J.

Mannette, Henry J.

Manning, Vivian C.

Mason, John W. R.

McCreath, Robert S.

Mulock, Arthur F.

Pickels, Aubrey R.

Potvin, Maurice J-P.

Quinn, John E.

Ring, Gordon R.

Ritcey, John F.

Stinson, Gordon W.

Thomas, Gary J.

Tickner, Leslie E.

Tobias, James J.

Van Duzee, Michael F.

Vandorpe, Romain H.

Wezden, Joseph

White, Gregor I.

White, John W.

White, Karl L.

Wilkinson, Donald W.

 

 

 

 


 

Former Crew Members

 

Archer, George Ross, SLt, RCNVR - 12 Mar 1945

 

Brown, Alexander, Lt (E), RCNR - 20 Jun 1944 - Commissioning crew

 

Campbell, Patrick Gregory, Lt (E), RCNVR - 11 Jun 1945

Edison, William G. H. (Bill), Ordinary Seaman Electrician's Mate

 

Croshaw, Bill

 

Gilbert, Kenneth McArthur, Lt (E), RCNVR - 15 Mar 1945

Jones, Morton Hooper, Lt, RCNVR - 14 May 1945

 

Mundell, Robert

 

Walker, Lloyd Brian, SLt (E), RCNVR - 20 Jul 1944

 


 

Photos and Documents

 

HMCS Buckingham 314

Photo credit / Courtesy of Richard Duncan

HMCS Buckingham 314

Source: Flickr photo collection of Don Gorham

HMCS Buckingham K685

Source: Flickr photo collection of Don Gorham

A piece of Algonquin's stern remains attached to Buckingham's bow after their collision

 

Source: The Ship in Peacetime - HMCS Algonquin 224 (Jerry Proc's website)

 

Credit/Photographer: Cam Snowdon

Electricians at work in the tropics on HMCS Buckingham 1959

 

Bill Byrne, Reg Jessome and Ron Healey

 

Courtesy of Bill Edison

LSET Ray Lusk onboard HMCS Buckingham 1959. Ray went on to have a career with the Toronto Police Force

 

Courtesy of Bill Edison

HMCS BUCKINGHAM crew members Ray Lusk, Don Doucette, and Gary Mahoney 1958

 

Courtesy of Bill Edison

 

GS01

GS02

(GS01) Sea cadets OS Roy Baron and OS Donald McDougall of Edmonton receiving instruction on knot work and rope splicing onboard HMCS Buckingham by PO Gordon Stinson - Summer 1959  (GS02) Sea cadets OS Douglas Collister and OS Sidney Deveau of Hamilton receive instruction on the Robinson's disengaging gear by PO Gordon Stinson on board HMCS Buckingham

 

From the collection of LCdr Gordon Stinson

Courtesy of Shelley Kessel

 

HMCS Buckingham 314

Note the after landing pad with a helo

Source: Flickr photo collection of Don Gorham

HMCS Buckingham 314, Lunenburg, NS circa 1963

HMCS BUCKINGHAM 314 - undated

 


 

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