Accession NumberP493Title (extended title only)Plaque - HMS CavendishDescriptionSmall sized plaque with raised painted stone/ceramic motif of HMS Cavendish-The rear of the plaque has the date of the visitDate25th August 1960ProvenanceHMS Cavendish was one of eight C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Commissioned in late 1944, she was built as a flotilla leader with additional accommodation for staff officers. The ship was assigned to the Home Fleet in 1945 after working up where she escorted capital ships of the fleet. Cavendish was laid down by John Brown & Company at their shipyard in Clydebank on 19 May 1943 with the name of Sibyl and was launched on 12 April 1944 by which time she had been renamed. She was commissioned on 13 December and was allocated to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla for service with the Home Fleet. After a refit in mid-1945 to augment her anti-aircraft armament, she was transferred for service in the Far East in June, but joined the East Indies Fleet at Trincomalee, British Ceylon, in August.
Following the war Cavendish paid off into reserve. She was selected for modernisation and the work was completed in 1955. She emerged from modernisation in 1955 for service with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Home Fleet, including service in the Mediterranean. In 1960 she was deployed for service with the Far Eastern Fleet at Singapore, during which time she visited Fremantle. In 1964 she returned to Portsmouth and received a brief refit. Cavendish was paid off on 1 January 1965 and was sold for scrap to Hughes Bolckow on 2 August 1967. She arrived at the breaker's yard in Blyth for scrapping on 14 August 1967.
Cavendish was sold for scrap in 1967. Relevance to the CityThe City of Fremantle has a long association with the Royal Navy and this ship HMS Cavendish visited Fremantle on the 25th August 1960 when the plaque was gifted to the City by Captain Evans of HMS Cavendish.
