73 Years Ago Today

It was 73 years ago today, during WW2, that two allied destroyers, HMS Hurworth and HHelMS Adrias sailed into a recently laid mine field between Gümüşlük and Kalymnos.

Adrias was the first casualty; Hurworth sank with the loss of over a hundred men while coming to the aid of Adrias.

Adrias, with some of the survivors from Hurworth, made her way to Gümüşlük.

Below are a number of links to eye witness accounts of the fateful events and Adrias’ time in Gümüşlük.

Adrias - Hitting the Minel

Adrias at Gümüşlük

Hurworth - The Sinking

Adrias Arriving in Alexandria

Gümüşlük October 1943

A while ago while running a Google search for some other village related info I found a reference to an allied warship, HMS Hurworth, which had sank off the Island of Kalymnos in Oct 1943. 

HMS Hurworth By Royal Navy official photographer

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Following this lead I discovered that Hurworth was one of two ships that struck mines that night. The second ship, HHelMS Adrias, was badly damaged but managed to make its way to the neutral harbour of Gümüşlük as did some of the survivors from HMS Hurworth.

 HHMS Adrias By Royal Navy official photographer

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

We’ve added a new page which contains a brief description of the events, and of the time Adrias was under repair in the village.