Save our flag! 'It’s up to the good people of Ludlow to decide what happens'
This year, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War Two. A triumph for freedom over oppression. For much of that time, the White Ensign of HMS Ludlow has been laid up at St Laurence’s church in Ludlow but before that, the flag ‘sailed’ with the officers and crew of the ship, named after the town, as they protected convoys in the Atlantic and North Sea.
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The flag is a tangible link to the ship and its crew who, whilst performing their duty for the nation, would not have known each morning, if they would survive to the next. It is also a direct link to the people of Ludlow in war torn Britain. Now, the White Ensign of HMS Ludlow is in a very poor condition; it can be saved but to do so, we need help.
The ship was originally built at Philadelphia in 1916 for the United States Navy, as a Caldwell-class destroyer. She was launched in 1917 as the USS Stockton and so served until 1922, when she was ‘mothballed’. In 1940 she was transferred to Britain with some 44 other vessels, as part of a support package and recommissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Ludlow, a Town-class destroyer assigned to the Rosyth Escort Force. This British classification title recognised the link between towns in Britain and America, sharing the same name.
Between October 1941 and March 1942, Warship Weeks were organised in towns and cities throughout Britain to raise funds for the war effort. Once the target had been raised, the community adopted the ship and its crew. The people of Ludlow seem to have ‘adopted’ HMS Ludlow of their own accord and sent the crew gifts such as board games, wireless sets and books. The ‘ladies of Ludlow’ also used their sewing skills to produce the White Ensign flag in silk, which was ceremonially ‘dedicated’ at St Laurence’s church. Sent to the ship with the town’s coat-of-arms, the ensign ‘sailed’ with the crew during Atlantic and North Sea convoy escorts, including a search after a deadly attack on Convoy HX84 by the German battleship Admiral Scheer. She later played a support function during the D-Day invasion. The ship was also ‘adopted’ by Hartlepool during a Warship Week in March 1942.
HMS Ludlow was decommissioned in June 1945. At low tide, her remains may still be seen off Fidra Island, Firth of Forth, near Yellowcraig Beach, where she sank as a result of target practice by the RAF in July 1945. As her White Ensign was never ‘government issue’, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that no government regulation can prevent it being conserved for future generations.
