Hidden History Revealed at Shute End, Wokingham
Wokingham Borough Council’s building support team knows every corner of the civic offices at Shute End. But when building support officer Michael Hawkes stumbled on a dusty old badge in the basement, he couldn’t have known the extraordinary piece of history he was about to uncover.
Michael had found the badge of the warship HMS Garth, and an inscription commemorating the Wokingham council’s adoption of this Hunt Class Royal Navy destroyer during World War II.
“As soon as I read the inscription I realised what the badge was,” said Michael. “But it took a lot of work to piece together the story behind it.”
Michael enlisted the help of the council’s librarian, Ray Piggott, to investigate the badge and the warship it remembers. Along with Ray and local historian Jim Bell, who has also been researching the ship’s history, Michael spent his spare time piecing together snippets of information from local residents, and official records and photographs from the National Archives at Kew.
“Ray and I took a day off work to go up to Kew,” says Michael. “But it was worth it – we were able to put together a lot of our other information after reading about the ship there. Ray also visited the Berkshire Records Office.”
In February 1942 Wokingham took part in National Warship Week, raising over £400,000 to fund the building and equipping of a warship. “That’s a lot of money now, but in 1942 it was a phenomenal amount,” Michael says.
“The ship was adopted because its name matched that of our local hunt – the Garth hunt,” he says. “It had a very active service defending our coast and took part in the Dieppe raid in 1942 and the Normandy landings in 1944. The two Wokingham councils encouraged residents to make it happen. What a great example of co-operation!”
The ship’s bell and a badge will be on display at Wokingham Town Hall during Heritage Week in September. The ship’s badge, which Michael uncovered in the civic offices basement, now has pride of place on the wall near the council’s reception area.
Jim Bell and Michael Hawkes have prepared a short booklet all about the history of the ship, which can be bought from the Town Hall or from Michael Hawkes with all proceeds going to charity.
Michael had found the badge of the warship HMS Garth, and an inscription commemorating the Wokingham council’s adoption of this Hunt Class Royal Navy destroyer during World War II.
“As soon as I read the inscription I realised what the badge was,” said Michael. “But it took a lot of work to piece together the story behind it.”
Michael enlisted the help of the council’s librarian, Ray Piggott, to investigate the badge and the warship it remembers. Along with Ray and local historian Jim Bell, who has also been researching the ship’s history, Michael spent his spare time piecing together snippets of information from local residents, and official records and photographs from the National Archives at Kew.
“Ray and I took a day off work to go up to Kew,” says Michael. “But it was worth it – we were able to put together a lot of our other information after reading about the ship there. Ray also visited the Berkshire Records Office.”
In February 1942 Wokingham took part in National Warship Week, raising over £400,000 to fund the building and equipping of a warship. “That’s a lot of money now, but in 1942 it was a phenomenal amount,” Michael says.
“The ship was adopted because its name matched that of our local hunt – the Garth hunt,” he says. “It had a very active service defending our coast and took part in the Dieppe raid in 1942 and the Normandy landings in 1944. The two Wokingham councils encouraged residents to make it happen. What a great example of co-operation!”
The ship’s bell and a badge will be on display at Wokingham Town Hall during Heritage Week in September. The ship’s badge, which Michael uncovered in the civic offices basement, now has pride of place on the wall near the council’s reception area.
Jim Bell and Michael Hawkes have prepared a short booklet all about the history of the ship, which can be bought from the Town Hall or from Michael Hawkes with all proceeds going to charity.
Wokingham Borough Council
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