Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Notable Point · 11:04-13:15

HMS Bryony links First World War Q-ships to Narvik

HMS Bryony shows how merchant-like Q-ships, emergency escort construction, and the career of Bernard Warburton-Lee connected the two world wars.

Anchusa Class SloopsBernard Warburton-LeeEscort VesselsFirst Battle Of NarvikFlower Class SloopsHMS BryonyQ ShipsRoyal NavyWar Emergency ProgrammeWorld War I
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Notes

HMS Bryony was an Anchusa-class corvette, part of the final group of First World War Flower-class sloops built under the Emergency War Programme. Their botanical names produced the cabbage or herbaceous-border nickname, while their merchant-like appearance enabled occasional employment as Q-ships. Bryony could sail within a convoy under merchant disguise on one operation and escort openly on another. Bernard Armitage Warburton-Lee's 1933-34 command of Bryony connects a small First World War escort with the officer who later led an H-class destroyer flotilla at Narvik and received the Victoria Cross. Bryony's continued presence in Royal Navy service during the 1930s also helps explain why old emergency-built escorts still influenced interwar force planning.