Each Tribal was intended to visit the people after whom it was named, although practical and political problems made many of the visits impossible. HMS Ashanti did reach her namesake community and received ceremonial blessings and gifts, including bells and a shield. The chief and priests said these tokens would protect the ship. The promise acquired a wry edge after the war because Ashanti was one of only four Royal Navy Tribals to survive and did so comparatively intact. Those symbolic imperial relationships gave the ships a peacetime role closer to that of cruisers.
Notable Point · 12:17-15:32
HMS Ashanti turned a ship name into a diplomatic visit
The planned visits between Tribal destroyers and their namesake peoples show how the class was expected to perform imperial and diplomatic work.