Minesweeper riddle

[paul0510]

When I attended Dover Grammar School (61-67) there was a fairly large and active Combined Cadet Corps comprising the three Services, RN, RAF and Army and led by the schoolmasters Messrs. Salter, Peacock and Bird respectively (strange, but true). Needless to say, I joined up and was soon outfitted in blue serge, flat hat and bellbottoms (aka sailor suit) and spent my Friday afternoons, after regular school hours, parading up and down the quadrangle clutching a .303 Lee Enfield to the clack-clack of the NCO’s pace stick set to the regulation 30“ stride. All good man-making stuff right down to the spit-and-polish and the nerve-racking pressing of seven trouser creases per leg prior to inspection. But there was, of course, an upside to all this bullshyt for a young lad in that one actually got to fire the .303, together with Sten guns and the like, down on the range at Whale Island on training ‚expeditions’. Not only that, we had days at sea running up and down the Channel on frigates/destroyers firing pom-poms and depth-charges, HMSs Puma and Diamond come to mind, and one very memorable week based aboard HMS Maidstone up in Scotland with runs around the Western Isles on a minesweeper HMS …………?
Which having digressed a tad, brings me to the question that instigated this thread in my mind.

On leaving Faslane homeward-bound we Cadets were presented with two hat bands, one with “HMS Maidstone“ and the other with “HMS Miner I“ on it. Now I am sure, and I’ve googled this, that the minesweeper never went under this name. I guess it was one of the ‚Ton’ class (and, boy, there were lots of those) but could anybody verify that? We are talking Easter 1964-1965 or thereabout.
So, come on you RN buffs (not the Army type!!) put your flat ’ats on and put a proper-job name to this vessel!! (Thumb)



Oh..and thanks!

[clankie]

Was the vessel in question a minesweeper? There was a class of small ship called Miner, they were all fleet tenders and had the name Miner with a number suffix, (I through to VIII at least.) One of them was the tender to the Excalibur class submarines. I hope this may be of some help and will endeavour to find a little more. (Thumb)

[paul0510]

....aaah, Clankie, that's it then, innit? Cos the Maidstone was a sub depot ship and we did board a few subs whilst in Faslane. Also I have just found some old pics of the Miner III & V which were mine-layers!
Thanks, mate.

[jbryce]

This is a pic of HMS Miner I, in her later guise as Minstrel. The accompanying photo of HMS Miner II (in 1948) is how she would have looked when in commission.