copyright – Ed Buscall

There have been four ships of the Royal Navy that have had the name of H.M.S. Argonaut. The first ship dates back to 1782 she was a Third Rate Ship of the Line that was captured from the French in the West Indies. Quite some time past until the next ship was named Argonaut she was a Diadem Class Cruiser launched in 1898 she was to set sail across the world to serve on the China station and then as a Hospital ship in the Medway. In 1941 a Dido Class Cruiser was launched with Argonaut as her name her story is one of great interest and is told in more detail within this website and finaly the last ship to have the name was the Leander Class Frigate that de-commissioned in 1993 she served and was damaged in the Falklands in 1982.

The Association was originally set up by a group of ex-crew members headed by Fred Wood who had been the Chief Petty Officer Writer in the Dido Class Cruiser during the Second World War the other founding members were Tom Bartlett (PO Cook), Pat Doubleday, and Fred Vesty.The Association has had a few Secretaries in 1992 Vernon Triggs took over the role and in 2000 Eric Jones also held the position. The current Secretary is Adam Phillips who served onboard the Leander Class Frigate.

The Association has members from all around the world and provides an important link in keeping old shipmates in touch with one another. We hold annual reunions the first of which took place in 1984 at the Masonic Hall in Portsmouth, England. They have moved around and at one point it was held in Middlesex however the reunion moved back to Portsmouth as this was the home of the Dido Class Cruiser however in the hope we might recruit more Leander members and as such we held the 2007 and reunion in Plymouth for the first time at the Royal Fleet Club Devonport this was a great success with a service held for our lost shipmates.

The Association was originally set up so shipmates could keep in touch with each other however as time passes by it has become more important to record the stories of those who gave so much in our dark days. The Association is looking to help those crew members that served on the Frigate keep in touch and keep the Association alive.

This site is for everyone with an interest in the ships of the Royal Navy. If you would like to join the Association then please use the Contact link for details.Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the site and it’s content as you can appreciate the task of gathering accurate accounts of more than one ships life is quite demanding and discrepancies can occur. So if you have any information on any of the ships mentioned on this site please contact the Association by using the Contact link .

Adam Phillips – Association Secretary

Brian Leyland – Association Vice Secretary