HMS Ross was a Hunt class minesweeper

Hunt class minesweeper (1916)

The Hunt class minesweeper was a class of minesweeping sloop built between 1916 and 1919 for the Royal Navy. They were built in two discrete groups, the earlier Belvoir group designed by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company and the subsequent Aberdare group designed by the Admiralty...

, built by Lobnitz

Lobnitz

Lobnitz Marine Holdings is a Scottish shipbuilding company located at Renfrew on the River Clyde, west of the Renfrew Ferry crossing and east of the confluence with the River Cart...

 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

Ross

Ross is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...

 hunt.

In 1940, Ross was serving with the 5th Minesweeping Flotilla. With the rest of her flotilla, she took part in Operation Dynamo

Operation Dynamo

The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...

, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force

British Expeditionary Force (World War II)

The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied 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

Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)

The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

 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

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

: a bomb passed through her bow without exploding, leaving its tail fin behind.

In 1941, during Warship Week

Warship Week

Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the adoption of a Royal Navy warship by a civil community. A level of savings would be set to raise enough money to provide the cost of building a particular naval ship...

, 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

Ross-on-Wye

Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...

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.