HMS ''Halsham'' was one of 93 ships of the of inshore minesweepers of the Royal Navy. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in ''-ham''. The minesweeper was named after

Halsham Halsham is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately west of Withernsea town centre and it lies south of the B1362 road. According to the 2011 UK census ...

in the East Riding of Yorkshire. She was transferred from the Royal Navy to Royal Air Force duties in 1966 and renamed ''No.5002'' (later ''No.5012'') and converted to a research and trials vessel for

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

. By 1972, she was the only remaining RAF-operated marine asset, and to provide continued efficient management she was transferred to the

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

's civilian fleet and renamed ''Richard George Masters''. Private Masters was the sole recipient of the Victoria Cross in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

during the First World War.

Notes

References

*Blackman, R.V.B. ed. ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' (1953) Ham-class minesweepers Royal Navy ship names 1953 ships {{UK-minesweeper-stub