Career
''Cardinham'' was one of the flotilla sent to Malta for the Suez campaign. Crossing the English Channel took several attempts until the weather eased. An earlier crossing by small ships led to some having the front of their chartrooms stove in, flooding the forepart and unfortunate descents. Malta was reached without incident. However, when the Commodore chose ''Cardinham'' to evaluate the capability of streaming sweeps in moderately rough conditions, it was decided that the sweepers were too small actually to go to Suez, which was much regretted. They were intended to clear the canal before heavy ships cleared the area. Anticipation was aroused when boxes containing 'anti-tank weapons' arrived. Investigation revealed them to be bren guns. The cancellation was disappointing and the aggression build-up was relieved, somewhat unfortunately, when a visit was made to Messina. Return was to Gareloch and paying-off. ''Cardinham'', and a sister ship ''Etchingham'', were in service with the Hong Kong Royal Naval Reserve in the 1960s, until the unit was disbanded on 31 March 1967. Reservists were trained in minesweeping techniques using both sweeps and the electromagnetic loop.References
* Blackman, R.V.B. ed. ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' (1953) Ham-class minesweepers Royal Navy ship names 1952 ships {{UK-minesweeper-stub