HMS Hilary, was a former passenger liner launched in 1931, as SS Hilary, which was requisitioned by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and used as an ocean boarding vessel

Ocean boarding vessel

Ocean boarding vessels were merchant ships taken over by the Royal Navy for the purpose of enforcing wartime blockades by intercepting and boarding foreign vessels.-Ships:-References:...

 in the North Atlantic. It was later converted back to a merchantman but subsequently recommissioned back into the Royal Navy as an infantry landing and headquarters ship. At the end of the war in 1945 it was returned to civilian service, and scrapped in 1959.

History

The ship was constructed to carry 80 first class and 250 second class passengers between the United Kingdom and South America, but was requisitioned in 1940 and refitted in South Shields

South Shields

South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...

 as an Ocean Boarding Vessel.

Commissioned as HMS Hilary, F22, the ship stopped the Italian tanker, Recco on 3 May 1941 but the crew of the tanker scuttled it before it could be captured. On 10 May Hilary successfully captured the Italian tanker

Tank ship

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 .

The ship was returned to civilian service, and acted as a convoy commodore

Convoy commodore

A Convoy Commodore was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a senior merchant captain drawn from the RNVR...

 vessel in the North Atlantic. In October 1942 it was torpedoed amidships but the torpedo failed to explode. The following year it was recommissioned as a combined infantry landing ship and headquarters vessel (an Landing Ship Infantry (Headquarters), HMS Hilary, following work at Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 to equip it with six landing craft

Landing craft

Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...

 and accommodation for 313 crew and 378 soldiers.

During the July 1943 invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), the ship conveyed the 1st Canadian Division

1st Canadian Division

Formed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was initially made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin but these titles were dropped before the division arrived in Britain on October 14,...

 and Royal Marine commandos, and acted as the headquarters ship of Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian

Philip Vian

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars was a British naval officer who served in both World Wars....

. In October it was Commodore Geoffrey Oliver

Geoffrey Oliver

Admiral Sir Geoffrey Nigel Oliver GBE, KCB, DSO & Two Bars was a British Royal Navy officer during the Second World War.-Early career:...

's headquarters at Operation Avalanche, the invasion of the Italian mainland at Salerno

Salerno

Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....

. The ship returned to Portsmouth in December, and was used again in June for Operation Neptune

Operation Neptune

The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...

, the invasion of Normandy. Oliver once again used it as his headquarters, this time as commander of Naval Force J, and the ship also led Assault Convoy J11, troops landing from it on 6 June 1944 on Juno beach

Juno Beach

Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The sector spanned from Saint-Aubin, a village just east of the British Gold sector, to Courseulles, just west of the British Sword sector...

. Hilary was slightly damaged by a bomb on 13 June and on 23 June became the flagship of the Eastern Task Force because Admiral Vian's original flagship, HMS Scylla

HMS Scylla (98)

HMS Scylla was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 19 April 1939...

, had been put out of action by a mine

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

.

The ship was later returned to its original owners, Booth Steamship Company

Alfred Booth and Company

Alfred Booth and Company was founded in 1863 by Alfred Booth and his more famous brother, the English philanthropist and poverty reformer, Charles Booth and grew from being a small merchant house into a large international concern.-History:...

 and returned to civilian service, following refitting to allow 93 first class and 138 third class passengers to be carried between the United Kingdom and South America. It was chartered to Elder Dempster and Company for use on the for their Liverpool - Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

route but returned to Booth's South America route the following year. The ship was scrapped in 1959.