| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | ASW Trawler |
| Class | [No specific class] |
| Pennant | FY 124 |
| Built by | Cook, Welton & Gemmill (Beverley, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | |
| Launched | 27 Apr 1937 |
| Commissioned | Oct 1939 |
| End service | |
| History | Completed on 14 July 1937. In October 1940 Lady Elsa operated as a member of Escort Group 1 on North Atlantic escort duties. In From March until October 1942 Lady Elsa operated under American control in American waters. In January 1943 Lady Elsa arrived in South African waters to help control the alarming amount of submarine activity being experienced in this area. From February 6-12th she was docked in the Selborne dry dock at Simonstown. She operated in South African waters until the end of the war. She was returned to her owner in January 1946 and refitted for commercial use. Lady Elsa was renamed Lord Tay in 1950. Damaged by a fire on 3 September 1964. Scrapped at Grays on 20 November 1964. |
Commands listed for HMS Lady Elsa (FY 124)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Skr. Reginald Walter Denny, RNR | 25 Oct 1939 | 8 Mar 1940 |
| 2 | T/Lt. John Hartley Hodder, RNVR | 8 Mar 1940 | Jun 1940 |
| 3 | T/Lt. Sidney George Phillips, RNVR | Jun 1940 | Aug 1943 |
| 4 | T/Lt. Arthur Marchant Brown, RNVR | Aug 1943 | 24 Jun 1944 |
| 5 | T/Lt. Charles Alfred Power, SANF(V) | 24 Jun 1944 | 10 May 1945 |
| 6 | T/Lt. Alfred Kenneth Scholes, RNVR | 10 May 1945 | 13 Aug 1945 |
| 7 | T/S.Lt. Ernest Locksley Cross, RNVR | 13 Aug 1945 | late 1945 |
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Notable events involving Lady Elsa include:
20 Oct 1940
HMS Lady Elsa (Lt. J.G. Rankin, RNR) picks up 52 survivors from the British merchant Caprella that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-100 southwest of Rockall in position 56°37'N, 17°15'W.
Lady Elsa also picks up 43 survivors from the British merchant Sitala that was also torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-100 southwest of Rockall in position 56°35'N, 17°15'W.
23 Mar 1942
The damaged armed merchant cruiser HMS Queen of Bermuda (A/Capt.(Retd.) A.D. Cochrane, RN) departed Halifax under tow for the Brooklyn Navy Yard at New York. She is to proceed through the Cape Cod Canal.
Escort for the tow is provided by the auxiliary A/S trawlers HMS Bedfordshire (Lt. R.B. Davis, RNR), HMS Coventry City (T/Lt. J.C. Grose, RNR), HMS Kingston Ceylonite (A/Skr.Lt. W.M. Smith, RNR), HMS Lady Elsa (T/Lt. S.G. Phillips, RNVR) and HMS Stella Polaris (Skr. T. Normandale, RNR).
The tow arrived in Long Island sound on 29 March 1942. The trawlers then proceeded to New York arriving later the same day. HMS Queen of Bermuda was towed to the New York Navy Yard on 31 March 1942 as this was not possible earlier due to the weather conditions. (1)
6 Nov 1942
HMS Lady Elsa (Lt. S.G. Phillips, DSC, RNVR) picks up 55 survivors from the British merchant Arica that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-160 eight miles north of Galera Point, Trinidad in position 10°58'N, 60°52'W.
21 Oct 1943
Convoy AKD 4.
This convoy departed Aden on 21 October 1943.
On departure from Aden the convoy was made up of the following ships; Atlantian (British, 6549 GRT, built 1928), Baron Renfrew (British, 3635 GRT, built 1935), Bosworth (British, 6672 GRT, built 1919), Clan MacDonald (British, 9653 GRT, built 1939), Clan MacIver (British, 4500 GRT, built 1925), Imperial Valley (British, 4573 GRT, built 1924), Ioannis Fafalios (Greek, 6071 GRT, built 1918), Mount Helikon (Greek, 5525 GRT, built 1918), Nirvana (British, 6044 GRT, built 1914), Panaghiotis (Greek, 3575 GRT, built 1901), Romney (British, 5840 GRT, built 1929), Salween (British, 7063 GRT, built 1937), Streefkerk (Dutch, 6185 GRT, built 1921) and Sutherland (British, 5170 GRT, built 1940).
The submarine HMS Trespasser (Lt.Cdr. R.M. Favell, RN) also took passage in the convoy.
On departure from Aden the convoy was escorted by the sloop HMS Lulworth (Lt.Cdr. R.C.S. Woolley, RNR) and the corvettes HMS Freesia (T/Lt.Cdr. G.M. Berlyn, SANF(V)) and HMS Jasmine (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.A. Hoodless, RNR).
Around 2100D/24, south-south-west of Socotra, HMS Trespasser parted company to proceed independently to Colombo.
The Mount Helikon straggled from the convoy and did not rejoin. She proceeded to Kilindini / Mombasa independently.
On 31 October 1943, off Kilindini / Mombasa the three corvettes parted company with the convoy after a new escort had joined. This was made up of the A/S trawlers HMS Arctic Explorer (T/Lt. C. Pawley, RNVR), HMS Cape Warwick (T/Lt. K.J. Stern, RNVR), HMS Lady Elsa (T/Lt. A.M. Brown, RNVR) and HMS Northern Isles (T/Lt. J.M. Baldry, RNVR).
Also proceeding to Kilindini / Mombasa were the following merchant vessels Clan MacIver and Salween.
Joined from Kilindini / Mombasa was the following ship; Shirala (British, 7841 GRT, built 1925).
On 1 November 1943, the following ship joined the convoy coming from Dar-es-Salaam; Wyvern (Norwegian, 4007 GRT, built 1929).
On 6 November 1943, the following ships were detached to Beira; Atlantian, Bosworth and Streefkerk while the following ships joined coming from Beira; Alpherat (Dutch, 5759 GRT, built 1928), Fort Maisonneuve (British, 7128 GRT, built 1942) and Geronimo (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943).
On 8 November 1943, the following ships were detached to Lourenço Marques; Baron Renfrew, Imperial Valley, Panaghiotis, Romney and Wyvern.
The convoy arrived at Durban on 9 November 1943. (2)
Sources
- ADM 53/116477 + ADM 199/2237
- ADM 199/643
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.