HMS Sidlesham (M2729)

Career
Name: HMS Sidlesham
Namesake: Sidlesham
Builder: P. K. Harris
Launched: 25 March 1955
Completed: 23 November 1955
Fate: Sold July 1967. In use as accommodation at Chichester.
General characteristics
Class and type: Ham-class minesweeper
Notes: Pennant number(s): M2729 / IMS66

HMS Sidlesham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers.

Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Sidlesham in West Sussex.

As of April 2007 she is moored in Chichester Harbour and in use as accommodation at a Youth Sailing Centre.

Current use

HMS Sidlesham was renamed TS Gerald Daniel, when it was permanently moored in Bosham Channel in Chichester Harbour, and used as a training centre for the Sussex Police. It was named after PC Gerald Daniel who was killed in service for the Sussex Police.

In 1985 the youth organisation "Christian Youth Enterprises" bought the centre and have since run it as an activity centre for young people and adults. Photographs of the HMS Sidlesham and TS Gerald Daniel can be found on their website at http://www.cye.org.uk/galleryOld.htm

References