H.M.S. Cavalier
Class: Cavendish Destroyer
Launched: 1944
Built at: Isle of Wight
H.M.S. Cavalier was berthed at Hebburn for a while, since May 1999 she has had a permanent berth
at Chatham Historic Dockyard. South Tyneside Council originally bought the ship and docked it
at Hebburn, intending that it would be the centre of attraction for a maritime visitor centre.
The scheme never got off the ground and after an attempt to get cash from the Heritage Lottery
Fund failed, the council abandoned the project.
The HMS Cavalier Association along with other individuals then mounted a campaign to save the
ship as a memorial to all destroyermen lost in the Battle of the Atlantic and Russian Convoys
during World War 2.
They successfully submitted an application to the Heritage Lottery Commission for funding
and the ship was towed to Chatham to be part of the Historic Dockyard Attraction. The ship is
on show along with the preserved submarine HMS Ocelot and the 19th Century sloop HMS Gannet.
