The loss of the light cruiser HMS BONAVENTURE. One of her crew is remembered at Christ Church in the village of Redhill, North Somerset.

Not far from my great-grandparents grave in the churchyard of Christ Church in the North Somerset village of Redhill is the grave of John Edward Reynolds and his wife Elizabeth.  I have always been intrigued by a modest memorial inscription on their grave which reads: “ALSO IN MEMORY OF THEIR GRANDSON EDWARD ARTHUR HUGHES R.N. KILLED IN ACTION 31 MARCH 1941 AGED 21 YEARS”.  As he died during the Second World War I thought it might be possible to find out how he came to lose his life.

My research revealed that Edward Arthur Hughes was a telegraphist serving aboard the light cruiser HMS BONAVENTURE when she was torpedoed 100 miles south of the island of Crete during the ill-fated British attempt to help Greece resist German attack in the spring of 1941.   

BONAVENTURE was a Dido class cruiser of 5,600 tons with a speed of 33 knots and armed with eight 5.25in guns in twin turrets.  The ship entered service with the Royal Navy on June 19th 1940. 

By January 1941 BONAVENTURE was operating in the Mediterranean where on March 1st she joined the 3rd Cruiser Squadron which was taking part in Operation LUSTRE, the transfer of British military forces to Greece. 

On 31st March 1941 at 0300 hrs, while heading for Alexandria as part of the escort for convoy GA008, BONAVENTURE was hit by two torpedoes fired by the Italian submarine AMBRA and sank within 6 minutes.  The destroyers HMS HEREWARD and HMAS STUART rescued 310 of her crew of 480, but 139 men were lost, among them Edward Arthur Hughes.  He was the son of Arthur Thomas Hughes and Bessie Sophia Hughes of Clifton, Bristol. 

This month sees the 77th anniversary of the loss of BONAVENTURE. 

Telegraphist Hughes is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.