Lieutenant James Michael Leslie SCHOLFIELD RN
HMS Duchess, Royal Navy

Date of birth: 11th October 1917
Date of death: 10th December 1939

Killed in action aged 22
Commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial 33,1
He was born at Sanderstead, Surrey on the 11th of October 1917 the eldest son of James Leslie Scholfield, commercial traveller, and Gwendolen Mary (nee Roberts) of “Charters Mead”, Brameledown Road, Wallington in Surrey.

He was educated at St Christopher's, Bath and at the King’s School Canterbury from September 1931 to December 1934 where he was in Langley House. He was a scholar, a senior scholar and a member of the Rugby XV.

He entered the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth on the 1st of January 1935 and completed his training on the cruiser HMS Frobisher. He was appointed as a Midshipman in the Royal Navy on the 1st of January 1936 and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant on the 1st of March 1938. By 1939 he was serving as a Lieutenant on the China Station aboard the destroyer HMS Duchess, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Robert Charles Meadows White. They received orders to join the Mediterranean Fleet before receiving orders to return home as an escort

On the 12th of December 1939 HMS Duchess was arriving at the River Clyde along with two other destroyers as escort to the battleship HMS ”Barham”. The convoy was in total darkness and the crews were inexperienced in wartime conditions.

At 4.27am the destroyer was nine miles off the Mull of Kintyre and was zigzagging in fog when she collided with HMS Barham, cutting HMS Duchess in half and she overturned, trapping many of the crew including Captain Meadows. As she sank the depth charges in the aft end of the ship, which had been primed for action, exploded as they sank causing many casualties.

Seaman Frank Loy RN on board HMS Barham witnessed the carnage: -

"There were terrible scenes as Barham lost way and rescue attempts were made. Sea boats were turned inboard, hampering life saving operations. Men screamed as they drowned in the cold waters, choked by spreading oil fuel. In these early days of the war no escape ports were provided in ships' sides and the capsized forward half of the destroyer presented stark horror as men screamed through the small scuttles as they passed astern to their deaths. Barham struck Duchess between the forward funnel and the galley flat. Depth charges, not set to "Safe" exploded in the after part of Duchess adding to the night's carnage. A young Midshipman and Leading Seaman Charlie Bishop both dived into the icy cold water to rescue several men; they were the heroes of the night. Other Duchess men survived by walking down their ship's side and stepping onto the side of Barham by the 6 inch starboard battery. It took until we reached Greenock to clean off the oil from the survivors whom we had plied with hot drinks liberally laced with rum."

She sank with the loss of six officers and one hundred and twenty three ratings with only one officer and twenty two ratings surviving.
Langley House

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