Clive Gwinner (1908–1998) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a successful

Anti-Submarine Warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

commander, being credited with the destruction of seven

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s during the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...

Early life

Clive Gwinner was born 15 October 1908. In 1922, aged 14, he joined the Royal Navy as an officer cadet, and in 1926 was appointed to the cruiser HMS ''Frobisher'', with the rank of

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

. In 1930 he was made

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

, and 1931

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In the period before the

Gwinner served in several postings including 2 years aboard the submarine ''L53''.

War-time service

At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 Gwinner was commander of the minesweeper ''Alresford'' with rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

: In February 1940 he was appointed commanding officer of the destroyer ''Duncan'', followed in July with a shore posting in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In September 1940 Gwinner commissioned HMS ''Clare'' (a Town class destroyer) and was employed for the next nine months as a convoy escort. In this role Gwinner was engaged in all the duties performed by escort ships; protecting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats assaulting ships in convoy, and rescuing survivors. In June 1941 he took over as the first CO of the sloop ''Lulworth'' (ex

USCG The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

) commanding her for next two years. During this time Gwinner and ''Lulworth'' were assigned to the West Africa convoy route, escorting ships to and from

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. In this role Gwinner escorted 12 long distance convoys, ensuring the safe and timely arrival of more than 300 ships. Several of these convoys were attacked, involving Gwinner in convoy battles for OS 4 (five ships sunk), OS 10 (one ship), SL 98 (1 escort sunk), SL 109 (attacking U-boats all beaten off, though one ship sunk) and SL 115 (where Gwinner and ''Lulworth'' destroyed the Italian submarine Italian submarine Pietro Calvi, ''Pietro Calvi'', for which he was awarded the DSO). in April 1943 after a short spell back with ''Duncan'' Gwinner was given command of the sloop ''Woodcock'', and assigned to FJ Walker's 2nd Support Group. In July 1943 during operations in

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

2SG engaged 3 U-boats on the surface; ''Woodcock'' shared in the destruction of ''U-462''. In November Gwinner took part in the destruction of ''U-226''. In February 1944 Gwinner took command of the frigate HMS ''Affleck'' as senior officer of 1st Escort Group, though operating mainly in a support group role. That month they destroyed ''U-91'', and in March 1944 destroyed ''U-358'' after a 39-hour hunt, one of the longest U-boat hunts of the war. Two weeks later Gwinner and 1EG destroyed ''U-392''. In June 1944 1EG was assigned to protect invasion forces during

Operation Neptune Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the naval component of the D-day landings. During an action in the Channel, Gwinner was credited with a probable success, later confirmed and identified as ''U-1191''. In December ''Affleck'' was torpedoed and declared a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

;Blair Vol II, p636 Gwinner transferred his pennant to ''Balfour'', and continued operations, but had no more successes. In May 1945 Germany surrendered and hostilities in Europe ended.

Later life

At the end of the war Gwinner left the Royal Navy and moved to the US where he became director to an American container company, retiring in 1971. In 1969 his marriage ended; he married again two years later and moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He died there in 1998, aged 89.

Successes

Gwinner was credited with the destruction of seven enemy submarines in his war-time service.

Notes

References

* * * * *VE Tarrant :''The U-boat Offensive 1914–1945'' (1989)

External links

C Gwinner at unithistories.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwinner, Clive Royal Navy officers of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 1908 births 1998 deaths