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BYMS 2079
Officers of BYMS 2079
Center, Kenneth Edward Moxley
Watch these short videos about the Wildfire III Minesweepers.
Minesweepers: https://youtu.be/aTsYiZFzv5M
D-day minesweepers: https://youtu.be/ZjlA5LxCAsg
Clearing the Scheldt: https://youtu.be/8ELsc9T3Lbw
The Relief of Holland: https://youtu.be/GghYEFHmOfY
Preceded by Mine Sweepers the invasion convoy, including landing craft, supply ships and escorting warships, leaves Spithead for France.
Crew of BYMS 2079.
Photographs thanks to J. R. Grimley.
Crew of BYME 2079
BYMS 2079
British Yard Mine Sweeper 2079.
Nore Command, World War Two 1939 to 1945.
British Yard Minesweeper BYMS 2079.
MOVEMENTS.
24 July 43, Completed.
19 Sep 43, New York.
23 Sept 43, Boston.
25 to 27 Sep 43, Halifax.
29 Sep to 11 October 43, St John’s. Crossed Atlantic Ocean from Canada to the U.K.
18 Oct 43, Londonderry.
25 and 26 Oct 43, Plymouth.
1 Nov 43 Southend.
25 April 44 Harwich.
7 May to 23 May 44 Harwich.
D Day, 6 June 44. BYMS (British Yard Mine Sweepers) 2079 swept the inshore areas off the D-day landing beaches, especially the boat lanes between the transport areas and the beaches.
24 June 44 Southend. Leading military convoys on way to D-day beaches
24 June to 5 July 44 Harwich.
5 July to 25 July 44, Southend
23 Aug 44 Lowestoft.
23 and 24 Aug 44, Harwich.
24 and 25 Aug 44, Southend.
18 Sep 44, Le Havre. As the army advance overland taking the ports, the minesweepers cleared the mines from them.
18 Sep to 30 Oct 44, Portsmouth.
2 Nov 44, Portsmouth.
20 to 23 Nov 44, Lowestoft.
23 Nov 44, Humber.
13 June to 8 July 45, Humber.
9 July to 20 Aug 45, Cuxhaven, Germany. Although the War in Europe is over, mines still need clearing from German harbours and ports allowing ships carrying humanitarian aid, for people close to starvation, to discharge their cargoes.
21 to 23 Aug 45, Lowestoft.
23 Aug to 7 Sep 45, Dover.
7 Sep 45. Lowestoft.
1947 at Foulmouth.
8 May 48, Sold.
Sub-lieutenant Kenneth Edward Moxley
BRITISH YARD MINE SWEEPERS
BYMS’s were built in the United States and transferred the Royal Navy under the Lend-lease Programme. “British Yard Mine Sweepers” are so called because they were built to the same design as the US Navy’s “Yard Mine Sweepers”.
Crews for the BYMS’s would sail to the United States, often on the Queen Mary, which could sail unescorted because of her greater speed, to collect their vessel. They would then have the formidable task of sailing their small vessel back across the Atlantic Ocean, often in winter.
Distinguished Service Cross awarded to Temp. Lieutenant H. R. Walker.
OFFICERS ON THE NAVY LIST, June 1944,
Temp. Lieut, R. N. R., H. R. Walker 15 Nov 43 (In Command)
Temp. Lieut, R. N. R., N. H. Cleare, 25 July 43
OFFICERS ON THE NAVY LIST, July 1945.
Temp. Lieut, R. N. R., H. R. Walker DSC. 15 Nov 43 (In Command)
Temp. Lieut, R. N. V. R., H. Blackwell, 7 July 44.
Officers and crew of BYMS 2079, taken 21 March 1945.
BYMS 2079, FLOTILLA 163.
Built by: Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Whitestone, New York, USA.
Laid down: 29 October 1942
Launched: 22 May 1943
Completed and transferred to Royal Navy: 24 July 1943,
Reclassified: HMS J-879 later HMS BYMS-2079
Assigned to the Nore Command, Flotilla 163
Took part in the D-day landings.
Thank you to Mike Brewser for sending these photographs.
LIEUTENANT HAROLD WALKER.
Thank you to Roger Walker for the information and photographs of BYMS 2079 and his dad Lieutenant Harold Walker.
Roger tells us, Dad was gazetted in Dec 1942 for brave conduct. I believe he was protecting the east coast during the early part of the war and stopped a number of coastal attacks from German ships.
His DSC was awarded for the part he played in D-Day. He swept the channels right up to the beach clearing the mines over a large area to allow the larger ships positioning themselves and also the invasion landing craft to reach the beach without the risk of hitting mines. I understood he took risks above the normal course of duty.
In the Navy his nick name was " Willlie "and it was often said "will he or won't he " his nick name stayed with him after the war.
I can remember going to the Palace to see dad collect his DSC from the King.
After the war he stayed on clearing channels at Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Trieste in HM BYMS 2141.
Preparing to start sweeping.
Sub-lieutenant Moxley joined the Royal Navy (seniority) 08/07/43.
Prior to serving on BYMS 2079 he is also listed as serving at HMS Quebec, (Combined Training Center located on the shores of Loch Fyne in Scotland) HMS Melampus (a shore establishment at Bathurst, Gambia.) and Sqdn. 848 (a naval air squadron)