~ HMS Gurkha WW2 Battle Honours Board ~
A battle honours board from HMS Gurkha commemorating the efforts of the tribal class destroyers who fought in the Second World War.
We can presume, as this plaque is a WW2 commemoration piece, that it would have been presented to The Tribal Class Frigate HMS Gurkha
(F122) which was launched in 1960 due to the fact that the original Gurkha and subsequent L-Class Destroyer of the same name were both lost
in the war.
The board is of wood and is shield shaped.
It has a painted image of HMS Gurkhas boat badge to the top. Below is a brass-metal plaque with an image in relief of a ship (presumably HMS
Gurkha) with the dates of the Second World War to either side.
Below this are the names of 23 tribal class destroyers from ‘Afridi’ to ‘Warramunga’ including the original HMS Gurkha which was sunk in an air
attack in 1940.
There is a metal plaque to the bottom edge which reads ‘Presented To H.M.S. Gurkha To Commemorate The Tribal Destroyers Who Fought So
Gallantly’.
The board has mounting hooks to the reverse and some hand painted numbers.
~ Dimensions ~
The board measures 32cm (12 ½ inches) by 39.5cm (15 ½ inches) with a depth of 2.5cm (1 inch).
It weighs 2.58 Kg.
~ Condition ~
The wooden board has some small scratches, dents and chips and has been quite worn around the edges of the metal plaque (with the image of
a ship) through overzealous polishing. But there are no major damages.
The paintwork is in good order with only a couple of small scratches to the image of the badge and the ‘9’ in 1945.
Both plaques are in good order .
~ Tribal Class Destroyers ~
The Tribal class, or Afridi class, were a class of destroyers built for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy that saw
service in World War II. Originally conceived during design studies for a light fleet cruiser, the Tribals evolved into fast, powerful destroyers, with
greater emphasis on guns over torpedoes than previous destroyers, in response to new designs by Japan, Italy, and Germany. The Tribals were
well admired by their crews and the public when they were in service due to their power, often becoming symbols of prestige while in service.
As some of the Royal Navy’s most modern and powerful escort ships, the Tribal class served with distinction in nearly all theatres of World War
II. Only a handful of Royal Navy Tribals survived the war, all of which were subsequently scrapped from hard use, while Commonwealth Tribals
continued to serve into the Cold War, serving with distinction in the Korean War. Only one Tribal survives to this day: HMCS Haida, which is now
a museum ship in Canada.
~ HMS Gurkha (F122) ~
HMS Gurkha (F122) was a Tribal-class frigate of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1960, she was the third ship of the royal navy to take this name (or
5th if you include the two with the alternative spelling of Ghurkah).
In 1965 she was deployed to the Middle East with the 9th Frigate Squadron.
She served on the Beira Patrol and during the withdrawal of British forces from Aden before carrying out patrol operations in the Persian Gulf
In 1976, Gurkha supported Royal Navy efforts against Iceland during the Third Cod War. She sustained superficial damage on 7 May when the
patrol ship Óðinn attempted to force the ship towards the British trawler Ross Ramilles, during which Óðinn collided with Gurkha.
Gurkha was present at the 1977 Spithead Fleet Review, held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. At this time she was part of the 1st
Frigate Squadron.
Gurkha was reduced to the reserve in 1980, being placed in the Standby Squadron. Although she had been put on the disposal list,Gurkha was
removed from the reserve during the Falklands War and prepared for active service.Gurkha remained in home waters, fulfilling duties in the
absence of ships that were operating in the South Atlantic. The following year, Gurkha became Gibraltar Guardship.
After being decommissioned in 1984, Gurkha was sold to Indonesia. She was renamed Wilhelmus Zakarias Yohannes after a radiologist and
specialist in X-ray technology. The frigate was withdrawn from service in 1999 and remains laid up at Surabaya Naval Base to await scrapping
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