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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D3A-1 'Val' dive bomber

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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Hollyhock crew

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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HMS Hollyhock at sea

Roll of Honour

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

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Alfred John Wickett

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
Naval architect's drawing of a Flower Class Corvette
9 April 1942 · 12:18 PM

Five Minutes, Three Bombs, Fifty-Three Lost

Escorting the tanker Athelstane southward from Trincomalee, Hollyhock was set upon by nine Aichi D3A-1 ‘Val’ dive-bombers from Admiral Nagumo’s carrier strike force. She sank in under a minute, taking with her the Captain, two officers and fifty ratings. Of her ship’s company, only sixteen would survive.

Read the Eye-Witness Reports
Sister Ship & Tanker

Ships in her Company

HMS Calendula

HMS Calendula

Jack’s first corvette — another Flower (K28), commissioned 1940, transferred to the US Navy as USS Ready.

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The tanker Athelstane

MFA Athelstane

The molasses tanker Hollyhock was escorting. Sunk in the same attack — but her crew survived, and rescued Hollyhock’s.

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Officers ashore

Gallery

Photographs of the ship, her officers and crew — including images taken on the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

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Research & Resources

For those tracing their own family histories

Service records, war graves, ship’s logs, and the people and archives that help bring a name back into the light.

Research Guide Related Sites Get in Touch