Higgins Boat - Ugly Little Boat That Won WW2 - HH > .
During the base's operation, she was assigned a number of depot ships. The first was the Nab Happy Lass, from the time of commissioning until 30 April 1945. She was replaced by harbour launch 30455 until May that year, and was then succeeded by the petrol powered harbour launch 436622 until March 1946.
- Soton ..
HMS Cricket was the name given to a Royal Navy shore establishment on the River Hamble from 1943 to 1946. This name was previously used by the Insect class gunboat HMS Cricket that was scrapped in 1942. HMS Cricket was commissioned on 15 July 1943. Initially it was a "Royal Marine Landing Craft Crew Training Base". It was established as an independent command with accounts being handled by HMS Shrapnel.
The base was later used, in the build-up to D-day, as a secret training base for the flotilla of landing craft taking men, tanks and supplies across the channel from Warsash and Hamble. From 23 May 1944, during the final preparations for D-Day, the base was completely sealed. Many dummy landing craft were built from lath and canvas at Cricket and moored on the upper Hamble where they gave an enhanced appearance of the numbers of the fleet and helped confuse German air patrols. The photograph shows the River Hamble with landing craft moored above the railway bridge. Some of their mooring-posts survive today.
In the build up to D-day there were some 4000 men attached to HMS Cricket, which had its own roads, services, cinema, medical facilities, and ammunition compounds.
It was decided to close HMS Cricket after the end of WW2, a decision taken on 1 March 1946. The last arrivals were on 20 May 1946 and Cricket was probably decommissioned on 15 July 1946, three years after commissioning. After decommissioning, the many buildings of HMS Cricket were used for temporary post-war accommodation for the civilian population of Southampton.
Manor Farm Country Park now occupies this site. Itchen South scouts operate a scout campsite, named Cricket Camp, on part of the land.In 1944 Countess Mountbatten was a Wren based at HMS Tormentor at Warsash at the mouth of the river - she spoke of how the Solent was so tightly packed with craft "you could have walked dry shod across to the Isle of Wight". In June 2004 a memorial was unveiled by Countess Mountbatten in Manor Farm Country Park, near the kiosk at Barnfield (by the cafe in the park). The memorial is dedicated to those who served at HMS Cricket.
Manor Farm Country Park now occupies this site. Itchen South scouts operate a scout campsite, named Cricket Camp, on part of the land.In 1944 Countess Mountbatten was a Wren based at HMS Tormentor at Warsash at the mouth of the river - she spoke of how the Solent was so tightly packed with craft "you could have walked dry shod across to the Isle of Wight". In June 2004 a memorial was unveiled by Countess Mountbatten in Manor Farm Country Park, near the kiosk at Barnfield (by the cafe in the park). The memorial is dedicated to those who served at HMS Cricket.
Closely connected with Cricket and using its repair facilities, was HMS Tormentor, a shore establishment of the British Royal Navy during World War II, based near Warsash, on the River Hamble.
In July 1940, following the outbreak of WW2, the Royal Navy requisitioned part of the grounds and buildings located on the shore of the River Hamble. The RN established a combined operations base, occupying the old Coast Guard House and RAF wireless station at Warsash. This aptly named unit was originally set up by the Navy for the purpose of training training small boat raiding parties to do more than 'torment' the enemy in the years before a major landing could be considered. In this they were very successful. Eventually, the facility was used for the training of landing craft crews and British Commandos. which occupied the old Coast Guard House and RAF station at Warsash.
By the time D‐Day approached Tormentor had become the base for three flotillas of LCIs, a vessel which could be likened to the cavalry of the small landing craft forces. They had no bow doors and were very seaworthy boats, about 108 ft. in length and with a top speed of 14 1/2 knots. (One of these LCIs was, in fact, constructed at the Solent Shipyard in Sarisbury Green and survived to the end of hostilities.)
