During the 2nd WW the ship was adopted by Beckenham, Kent. As the sister of Lt Cmdr P Vian (Later Admiral) – Marian Vian had a school in Beckenham named after her. Reg Morrison passed the 11 plus whilst attending in 1942. A plaque marking the adoption was put up in the town hall. This building was demolished in 1991 to make way for a supermarket. The area is now under the London Borough of Bromley.

HMS Cossack F03

Year by Year

Discover the history of the HMS Cossack from 1938 to 1941.

You can search the ‘year’ and ‘month’ to find a specific date and also ‘click’ on the date itself to reveal any images and moments from that date.

12 September 1939

0700 POMONE departs. French Torpedo Boat IPHEGENIA  joins from 0700 to 1230 to escort from Algiers to Malta

13 September 1939

Malta (No departure date)

21 September 1939

Alexandria

24 September 1939

Cossack departs for Malta in company with MAORI, NUBIAN and ZULU.

26 September 1939

Arrived Malta at 0700 with Captain De Pass and 236 ship’s company.

27 September 1939

Departed 0850. Ships in company – MAORI, NUBIAN and ZULU. (Malta Customs Log entry 2644) to provide escort to Green 2 (AB 3) from off Malta to Port Said.  Convoy consisted of 18 ships.

02 October 1939

Arrived Port Said

(Ordered to join Home Fleet for convoy defence.)

03 October 1939

Arrived Alexandria

07 October 1939

Departed Alexandria for Malta after refuelling.

09 October 1939

Arrived in Malta at 0815 with Captain De Pass and 224 ship’s company. Departed at 1345 on 9thOctober 1939.  Ships in company –MAORI, NUBIAN, ZULU and the cruiser COVENTRY. (Malta Customs Log entry 2743)

11 October 1939

Arrived and departed Gibraltar same day

14 October 1939

Portland in company with COVENTRY, MAORI, and ZULU. The Destroyers refuelled and departed to Rosyth.

15 October 1939

COSSACK and MAORI attack a submarine contact bearing 83 degrees and 6 miles from Coquet Island. (Admiralty War Diary [ADM 199 2196])

16 October 1939

COSSACK attacks submarine contact north of Blyth

17 October 1939

Arrived at Rosyth

18 October 1939

COSSACK departed Rosyth to escort REPULSE

19 October 1939

Cossack returned to Rosyth with MAORI

22 October 1939

Departs Rosyth to reinforce convoy FN24 off Fair Island. Action cancelled and orders received to proceed to Humber with all despatch to replace JAVLIN damaged in collision.  Arrived at the Humber the same day.

27 October 1939

Departed the Humber

28 October 1939

Arrived at Harwich (No departure details)

Hidden Gems

The HMS Cossack 1938-1941 was accepted on 10 June 1938 and dented, whilst coming alongside the jetty in Portsmouth on 12 June 1938.

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1806-1816

This is the account of the first vessel named HMS Cossack, a title that would be passed on to five later ships and commemorated by the Royal Navy in the Cossack Building at HMS Raleigh.

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1854-1875

The second Cossack was originally ordered by Russia for the Black Sea Fleet in December 1852 at a cost of 290,000 silver roubles. However, when relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated, Russia sold the vessels to the Hamburg trading firm Henry Mersk & Co.

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1886-1905

This account covers the third vessel named HMS Cossack. Launched on 3 June 1886 and in service until 1905, she spent the majority of her career in the Far East, calling at India, Aden, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and other ports.

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1907-1919

The fourth HMS Cossack received the first Battle Honour for participating in operations along the Belgian coast from 17 October to 8 November 1914. This section contains copies of the original construction contract and detailed plans showing her launch, deck arrangements, and machinery.

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1938-1941

Credited with battle honours including Baltic 1855, Witu 1890, Dover Patrol 1914–1919, Narvik 1940, Norway 1940, Atlantic 1940–1941, the Bismarck Action 1941, and the Malta Convoys 1941, the HMS Cossack in service from 1938 to 1941 was a formidable presence.

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1944-1960

During Warship Week in February 1942, the town of Esher raised £1,192,211, contributing to the construction of the warship HMS Cossack. The funds were collected by the public depositing money into a rubber-type float in a pool. Remarkably, the surplus was enough to fund a submarine as well. The story continues.

Anchor crest

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