Royal Navy · Pennant K64

HMS Hollyhock

— Flower Class Corvette, 1940–1942 —

A site of remembrance for the Flower Class Corvette Hollyhock, sunk by Japanese dive-bombers in the Indian Ocean on 9th April 1942, and for the 53 men — among them Stoker 1st Class Alfred John “Jack” Wickett — who never came home.

The Final Hours Roll of Honour

A Brother, an Uncle, a Shipmate

“Lest we forget the ship, lest we forget her crew.”

In honour of HMS Hollyhock (Pennant K64), built in 1940 by John Crown & Sons, Sunderland, and of my uncle Alfred John Wickett, Stoker First Class, who lost his life off the coast of Ceylon during active service when she was attacked by Japanese dive-bombers from Admiral Nagumo’s carrier strike force.

Explore the Story

The Hollyhock Record

Hollyhock under construction at Sunderland

History

Built on the Wear, commissioned in 1940, and adopted by the town of Abergele. Her specifications, plans and origins.

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HMS Hollyhock at Trincomalee, March 1942

Convoy Duty

From the Western Approaches to the Indian Ocean — the convoys, refits and re-deployment to the Eastern Fleet.

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The Final Hours

Eye-witness reports from Captain Moore of Athelstane and Sub-Lt. Humby on the morning the Hollyhock went down.

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Survivors

The sixteen who lived. Names, faces, and the diary of Sub-Lieutenant Dudley Knott telling of jungle escape and rescue.

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Roll of Honour

The 53 souls lost with the ship — remembered with honour at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham Naval Memorials.

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Jack's Service

Alfred John Wickett, Stoker 1st Class (D/KX.104161): a Cornishman’s short naval career, 1940–1942.

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Specification

A Flower for the Atlantic

The Flower Class Corvette was built for the Battle of the Atlantic — small, slow, rugged, and produced in numbers. Hollyhock, K64, was laid down at John Crown & Sons of Sunderland, fitted out by N.E. Marine and commissioned on 19 August 1940. She would later be modified for tropical service and reassigned to the East Indies Fleet in time for a war very different from the one she was designed to fight.

Pennant: K64
Class: Flower
Displacement: 1,170 t
Speed: 16 knots
Power: 2,750 hp
Fuel: 230 t oil
Boilers: 2 × Admiralty 3-drum
Armament: 1 × 4″ BL Mk IX
Depth Charges: 40
Builder: John Crown & Sons
Commissioned: 19 Aug 1940
Lost: 9 Apr 1942