History Of HMS Stalker
As far as we know there have only been ‘Three’ vessels named ‘Stalker’.

The first a requisitioned ‘Trawler’ in 1915/1919. It seems this vessel was used in W/W2 as a fuel carrier for the Esso Company and her name was changed to ‘Choice’. She foundered at ‘Arromanches’ on 25th August 1944 some two months after 6th June D-Day landings. The second a ‘Lend Lease Escort Carrier’ the ex ‘USS Hamlin’. Which was returned to the US Navy on the29th December 1945. This then leaves us with the current ‘Landing Ship Tank (LST)’ the former HMS Stalker. This vessel was built by Canadian Yarrow at Esquimalt, Canada in 1944 and was not completed until 1945.

Stalker herself it seems did not arrive in the UK until sometime in 1946. Therefore she and her Canadian built sisters, along with their British counterparts, were all built too late for W/W2. Landing Ship Tanks were never assigned individual crests, or even type badges, such as those assigned to other naval vessels. However, after 1947 LST 3515 was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Stalker, and was employed as a submarine support vessel and sent to Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

It would be at this point that this vessel would have inherited the ships crest of the previous Stalker, an Escort Carrier, along with her Battle Honors. She was at some point transferred to the then Royal Naval Base at Rosyth, Scotland where she carried on her role as a submarine support ship even after being transferred to Babcock Marine when the dockyard changed hands. According to official sources Stalker was placed on the Royal Navy’s scrap list in May 1970. So was Stalker at Rosyth Dockyard in 1970? The plot however, thickens, according to the last Hull Survey, which was carried out on the ship’s hull in 1996, this survey was carried out for the MOD. So who actually owned Stalker at this time?

Stalker became redundant from her position as a submarine support ship in 2002, when the repair of Nuclear Submarines stopped, and once again she was up for sale as scrap! It was at this point that myself (Chairman) and Mr Fred Kinsey (Treasurer) became involved with Stalker, needless to say the story is too long to narrate here but suffice to say, Stalker finished up being transferred to Pounds Marine Shipping, Tipner, Portsmouth where she is still berthed today awaiting either scrapping or buying being restored, which is where the Maritime Steam Restoration comes in!



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