Ian Valentine's account places HMS London in the final phase of the Chinese Civil War, after the wartime alliance between Mao's communists and the nationalists had collapsed. Royal Navy ships waited at Nanking and Shanghai to evacuate British nationals as communist forces approached the Yangtze. Artillery then struck HMS Amethyst, damaged her bridge and wheelhouse, and drove her aground near Rose Island. London was arriving at Shanghai with Vice Admiral A. C. Madden when the report reached her, prompting her captain to brief the crew and clear the cruiser for action. Embarking three river pilots turned a diplomatic-presence ship into the core of an attempted armed relief mission.
Notable Point · 51:00-53:15
HMS London prepares to respond to the Amethyst crisis
A reading from a study of HMS London places the cruiser at Shanghai as the Amethyst Incident unfolded on the Yangtze in April 1949.