Allied Warships

HMS Westminster (L 40)

Destroyer of the Admiralty V & W class

Navy	The Royal Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Admiralty V & W
Pennant	L 40
Mod	Fast escort
Built by	Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock, Scotland)
Ordered	9 Dec 1916
Laid down	Apr 1917
Launched	24 Feb 1918
Commissioned	18 Apr 1918
End service
History	Reconstruction to Fast Escort at Devonpost Dockyard was completed on 8 January 1940. Pennant was D 45 changed to L 40 upon completion of this reconstruction. HMS Westminster is not listed as active unit in the July 1945 Navy List Sold to be broken up for scrap on 4 March 1947.

Commands listed for HMS Westminster (L 40)

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	Lt.Cdr. Aymé Arthur Carrington Ouvry, RN	20 Dec 1939	10 Aug 1942
2	Lt. Gordon Thomas Seccombe Gray, DSC, RN	28 Jan 1941	Feb 1941 ?

3	Lt.Cdr. Harold Godfrey Bowerman, DSC, RN	10 Aug 1942	17 Jan 1945
4	Lt. John Edwin Dyer, DSC, RN	17 Jan 1945	mid 1945

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Notable events involving Westminster include:

16 Jan 1940
HMS Kipling (Cdr. A. St. Clair-Ford, RN) and HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. A.A.C. Ouvry, RN) escorted the armed merchant cruiser HMS Carinthia (Capt.(Retd.) J.F.B. Barrett, RN) during her gunnery exercises off Portland.

In the afternoon the destroyers carried out gunnery exercises themselves. (1)

21 Jan 1940
HMS H 31 (Lt. P.R. Ward, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Portland with HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. A.A.C. Ouvry, RN). (2)

7 Feb 1940
The large convoy FS 90 (almost 50 ships) departed the Tyne for Southend where it arrived on 9 February. It was escorted by the AA destroyer HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. A.A.C. Ouvry, RN) and the sloop HMS Londonderry (Cdr. T.L. Beevor, RN). Additionally the destroyer HMS Jaguar (Lt.Cdr. J.F.W. Hine, RN) also escorted the convoy part of the way south. HMS Jaguar returned to Rosyth on the 9th.

22 Mar 1940
HMS Tribune (Lt.Cdr. G.P.S. Davies, RN) conducted D/G trials off Rosyth.

These were followed by exercises which included A/S exercises with HMS Whitley (Lt.Cdr. G.N. Rolfe, RN) and HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. A.A.C. Ouvry, RN). (3)

9 Aug 1941
HMS Penelope (Capt. A.D. Nicholl, RN) shifted from the Tyne to Rosyth. She was escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. A.A.C. Ouvry, RN) and HMS Cattistock (Lt. R.M.W. MacFarlan, RN).

At Rosyth, HMS Penelope is immediately docked in No.1 dock. (4)

3 May 1942
The brand new battleship HMS Anson (Capt. H.R.G. Kinahan, CBE, RN) proceeded from the Tyne to Rosyth for further outfitting by the dockyard there. She is escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Wallace (Lt.Cdr.(Emy.) E.G. Heywood-Lonsdale, RN), HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. H.G. Bowerman, DSC, RN) and HMS Wolsey (Lt. T.F. Taylor, RN).

At the Rosyth Dockyard HMS Anson was immediately docked in No.1 Dock.

4 Jun 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises in the Firth of Forth with HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. H.G. Bowerman, DSC, RN), HMS Brimness (Skr. A.E. Larner, RNR), HMS Vega (Lt. C.G. Forsberg, RN) and HMS Wallace (Lt. D. Carson, RN). (5)

15 Apr 1944
HMS Ursula (Lt. A.G. Davies, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Methill with HMS Westminster (Lt.Cdr. H.G. Bowerman, DSC, RN), HMS Valorous (Lt. M.G. Macleod, RN), HMS Preston North End (T/Lt. D.K. Bennett, DSC, RNVR), HMS Spurs (A/Skr.Lt. E.J. Day, RNR) and HMS Arab (T/Lt. J.S.H. Lloyd, RNVR). (6)