HMS Glorious

The HMS Glorious Years 1935 – 1937

In 1935 my father was transferred to what would eventually become a part of the Royal Navy, that is the Fleet Air Arm. However, in these times the Fleet Air Arm was absolutely a part of the Air Force and the flag had to be flown in the Med. What good it did,, not really sure, it certainly didn’t stop the second world war. Anyway these photographs from my father’s personal album of the time show his time on HMS Glorious. Whether the Glorious sank in as yet unexplained circumstances we have to wait until the release of papers that have a 100 year embargo on their release. For conspiracy theorists this is a definite indication that there was some sort of skulduggery in the sinking of the Glorious. In 1935 Glorious was a carrier converted from a battleship built for the first world war and equipped with 15 inch guns that were only fired once and nearly broke the ships back. The value that was gained from these years of operation in the Med were absolutely invaluable and were part of the learning curve in the use of aircraft carriers. The photos following in their development of the technology of flying from aircraft carriers before the development of helicopters and there is little I can add so let the photographs speak for themselves.

Itinerary

This shows the meanderings of HMS Glorious through the Med between 1935 and 1937.

Much of the time was spent between Alexandria and Malta. For a better indication of the itinerary I list extracts from my father’s hand-written list of movements.

Where	From date	To Date	Heading to
Devonport	23 July 1935	20 Aug 1935	Portsmouth
Portsmouth	21 Aug 1935	24 Aug 1935	Gibralter
Gibralter	25/26 August	28 August 1935	Malta
Malta	28 August	3 September 1935	Alexandria
Alexandria	5 September	21 December 1935	Malta
Malta	23 Dec 1935	1 Jan 1936	Alexandria
Alexandria	3 January	20 April 1936	Malta
Malta	27 July	30 Sep 1936	Kavalla
Kavalla	3 October	8 October 1936	Thaco
Thaco	8 October	14 October 1936	Phaleron
Phaleron	15 October	22 October 1936	Suda Bay
Suda Bay	23 October	28 October 1936	Malta
Malta	30 October	2 February 1937	Alexandria
Alexandria	5 February	22 February 1937	Malta
Malta	23 February	27 February	Gibralter/Algeceriras
Gibralter/Algeciras	6 March	20 March 1937	Malta
Malta	23 March	26 April	Gibraltar
Gibraltar	30 April	30 April	Portsmouth
Portsmouth	5 May	21 May 1937	Devonport
Devonport	22 May	21 June 1937	Portsmouth
Portsmouth	22 June	24 June 1937	Falmouth
Falmouth	26 June	28 June1937	Torbay
Torbay	5 July	7 July 1937	Gibraltar
Gibraltar	12 July	16 July 1937	Malta
Malta	16 July	24 August 1937	Argostoli
Argostoli	26 August	30 August 1937	Alexandria
Alexandria	2 September	8 September 1937	Spetcai
Spetcai	10 September	15 September 1937	Malta
Malta	17 September	18 September	Arzev
Arzev	21 September	21 September	Mers el Kabir
Mers el Kabir	22 September	23 September	Malta
Malta	18 October	25 October 1937	Arzev
Arzev	28 October	28 October	Gibraltar
Gibraltar	28 October	29 October	Plymouth
Plymouth	2 November	Dec 15	South Cerney

HMS Glorious 2
Mishaps, Retrieval from the sea

HMS Glorious 3
Church Parade March 1936, Flight Deck views, Burning Ships, Miscellaneous views of HMS Glorious, Escort ships

HMS Glorious 4
Ports of call

1937 - 1940

RAF Bircham Newton

Bermuda

Flying Log Canada, Bermuda, Singapore UK

Harper Family Of York

Photographs in this article come from my fathers collection of photographs. I do not know if they are photgraphs that he took or whether they are just ones that he collected. If any of these photos are your work please let me know so that I can give due credit.