Captain Frank Gregory-Smith - Telegraph Captain Frank Gregory-Smith, who has died aged 99, was recognised for his bravery three times while captain of the Hunt-class destroyer Eridge during her two years in action. Last Updated: 6:02PM BST 21 May 2009 Captain Frank Gregory-Smith He commissioned the newly-built ship at Swan Hunter's yard on the Tyne in November 1940, and was to be her only captain. After undertaking Atlantic convoy work, Eridge deployed in July 1941 to the Mediterranean, where Gregory-Smith was ordered to protect a damaged destroyer, Firedrake, as the rest of the convoy in Operation Substance proceeded east. When Firedrake arrived at Gibraltar after being towed for 36 hours under constant threat of air attack, he was awarded a DSC for his seamanship, courage and determination. At the second battle of Sirte on March 22/23 1942, Eridge was one of five destroyers forming the close escort for four vital Malta-bound supply ships, which were relentlessly attacked by high-level, torpedo and dive bombers while Rear-Admiral Philip Vian's cruisers laid a smoke screen and jousted with a powerful Italian fleet. The attacks were so intense that by nightfall Eridge had only 28 rounds of high explosive shells left. The Italian fleet had been beaten off and the convoy was still intact, though it had been driven southwards. Vian's covering force, short of fuel and spread out over many miles, then turned back for Alexandria, leaving the supply ships and their escorts alone. As the convoy dispersed, Gregory-Smith was left with the slowest merchantman, Clan Campbell. When the two ships were attacked next morning Eridge was reduced to firing blanks, and could do nothing to prevent her being sunk a few miles outside Valetta. For three hours Gregory-Smith manoeuvred in a minefield under threat of air attack to pick up survivors. The normally taciturn Admiralty described the action as "brilliant", and Gregory-Smith received the DSO for outstanding services in the successful defence of the convoy. Only a few weeks later he was awarded a Bar for his efficiency and determination in conducting a 15-hour pursuit of a U-boat until it was forced to surface on May 29. With his last five depth charges he dropped a shallow pattern around U-568, and watched its crew flinging themselves into the water before he sent a boat to collect them. Nemesis came on the night of August 29, when every nerve in Gregory-Smith's body "began to transmit an urgent, compelling warning". As he issued orders to manoeuvre against an invisible enemy, Eridge was torpedoed amidships by an Italian motor torpedo boat. The explosion caused extensive flooding, and his ship was towed with a 20ft hole in the keel back to Alexandria, where she was written off. Gregory-Smith was mentioned in despatches for his coolness and courage, but he ensured that the bravery of his ship's company was not forgotten; a Distinguished Service Medal went to Leading Cook Bill Hardy, who had kept him supplied during the action with tea and "doorstops" of bread and corned beef. Despite her eventual loss Eridge's crew believed that she was a lucky ship: they nicknamed their captain "'Ardover" for his frequent use of full rudder. William Frank Niemann Gregory-Smith was born on January 24 1910 at Ashton-under-Lyne, the only child of an electrical engineer. After being given The Wonder Book of the Navy as a boy, his ambition was to join the service, and he entered Dartmouth in 1922. Before the war he served in the battlecruiser Tiger and spent two years in the gunboat Cricket on the Yangtze before becoming a destroyer officer. He was first-lieutenant in Foresight during the Spanish Civil War and then in the fleet destroyer Jaguar. After seeing action in the Norwegian campaign, Jaguar was ordered with three other ships to Dunkirk. One, Gallant, was dive-bombed and damaged en route. Grenade was sunk after she had loaded troops, and Jaguar was crippled – many of her crew and the troops they embarked from the mole were killed, but she was salvaged and towed back to Dover, thanks to Gregory-Smith's brave efforts at damage-control. After Eridge's loss he was appointed senior training officer for Force G. He then helped to plan the landings on Gold Beach in Normandy before acting as principal beachmaster in the assault phase of D-Day, with the task of ensuring that the constant stream of men and materials landing did not turn into a vast traffic jam. For his gallantry, skill, determination and devotion to duty under fire he was awarded a Bar to his DSC. Afterwards he accompanied Churchill to Yalta as the prime minister's amphibious warfare expert, but the Russian generals were not interested, and American admirals were unwilling to hasten the arrival of British forces in the Far East. Gregory-Smith remained in the Navy until 1960, but to his disappointment he spent most of his postwar career ashore. In the 1950s he was naval attaché in Ankara, and his last appointment was as Chief Staff Officer (Intelligence) to the C-in-C, Mediterranean. After leaving the Navy he was warden of Wilson House, a hall of residence for medical students at St Mary's, Paddington, where he continued to promote the founder's aim of turning out doctors who were intelligent athletes and played hard rugby. In retirement he was for many years church warden at St Mary and All Saints, Ellingham, in the New Forest. He enjoyed studying local history, and owned three generations of small black poodles. Gregory-Smith was a fine raconteur. He wrote memoirs of his family and of the Navy, running to 380,000 words, which are now in the Imperial War Museum. Red Tobruk, the story of his wartime years, was edited by his grandson and published in 2008. Frank Gregory-Smith, who died on May 4, married Jean Chalmers Sime; they had met in Dundee in 1940 while Jaguar was undergoing repairs. She died in 2006, and he is survived by a daughter and a son.
Well, there's another book for the list. I'm probably wrong but this action appears to be the one CS Forester based his novel The Ship around. An excellent captain and leader of men and definitely someone who kept his wits about him in the most extreme circumstances. RIP. A poodle man too!
A thread about the class of gunboat Gregory-Smith served on including a few links on the Cricket. http://ww2chat.com/forums/ship-vessel-type-photo-gallery/1440-insect-class-gunboats.html ...and HMS Eridge: HMS Eridge and her service history: HMS Eridge, escort destroyer
