HMS Ross (J45)

HMS Ross was a Hunt class minesweeper, built by Lobnitz and launched on 12 June 1919. She was originally called HMS Ramsey, but was renamed prior to launch. So far she has been the only ship of the Navy to bear the name Ross, in this case after the Ross hunt.

In 1940, Ross was serving with the 5th Minesweeping Flotilla. With the rest of her flotilla, she took part in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk, making a number of trips and taking off more than 1,000 men. Her captain was wounded on the first trip, so her first lieutenant, Kenneth Gadd, took over command. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions and remained in command until February 1943. In 1941, Ross had a narrow escape when attacked by a German bomber a few miles out of Aberdeen: a bomb passed through her bow without exploding, leaving its tail fin behind.

In 1941, during Warship Week, the Admiralty asked all the towns and counties in the country to adopt a ship. As a result, on 6 December 1941, Ross was formally adopted by Ross-on-Wye and the association remained until she was decommissioned in 1945. Ross was then finally sold for scrap on 13 March 1947.

An original Ship's Crest was presented to the town of Ross-on-Wye and it adorned the Mayor's chair in the Town Council Chamber for many years. More recently it has been loaned to TS Ross, the local Sea Cadet Unit, for safe keeping and it can be viewed by the public on their maindeck.