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 June 1937 | 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 |
