| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Escort destroyer |
| Class | Hunt (Type I) |
| Pennant | L 25 |
| Built by | J.S. White & Co. (Cowes, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 11 Apr 1939 |
| Laid down | 22 Aug 1939 |
| Launched | 5 Jul 1940 |
| Commissioned | 8 Nov 1940 |
| End service | |
| History | Sold to be broken up for scrap on 1 November 1956 and scrapped at Barrow. |
Commands listed for HMS Southdown (L 25)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Cdr. Edward Reignier Conder, DSO, DSC, RN | 10 Sep 1940 | 5 Feb 1941 |
| 2 | Cdr. Geoffrey Neame Loriston-Clarke, RN | 5 Feb 1941 | 15 Jan 1942 |
| 3 | Lt. James Bogue Marjoribanks, RN | 15 Jan 1942 | 22 Aug 1942 |
| 4 | Capt. Selwyn Victor Jephson, RN | 22 Aug 1942 | 29 Sep 1942 |
| 5 | Lt. James Bogue Marjoribanks, RN | 29 Sep 1942 | Aug 1943 |
| 6 | Lt. Timothy Claude Upton Fanshawe, RN | Aug 1943 | Feb 1945 |
| 7 | Lt.Cdr. Alfred Thomas Morgan, DSC, RNVR | Feb 1945 | 11 Sep 1945 |
| 8 | Lt. Archibald Norman MacPherson, RN | 11 Sep 1945 | early 1946 |
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Notable events involving Southdown include:
12 Dec 1940
After a delay of 24 hours due to a reported enemy submarine the British battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth (Capt. C.B. Barry, DSO, RN) departed Portsmouth for Rosyth where she was to complete her refit.
She was escorted by the destroyers HMS Kashmir (Cdr. H.A. King, RN), HMS Kipling (Cdr. A. St. Clair-Ford, RN), HMS Jupiter (Lt.Cdr. N.V.J.T. Thew, RN) and HMS Punjabi (Cdr. J.T. Lean, DSO, RN) and the escort destroyers HMS Cattistock (Lt.Cdr R.A. Ewing, RN), HMS Cleveland (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Clouston, RN), HMS Fernie (Lt.Cdr. R.McC.P. Jonas, RN) and HMS Holderness (Lt.Cdr. D.E. Holland-Martin, DSC, RN).
Around 1600/13 the original escort was relieved by the destroyer HMS Brilliant (Lt.Cdr. F.C. Brodrick, RN) and the escort destroyers HMS Exmoor (Lt.Cdr. R.T. Lampard, RN), HMS Pytchley (Lt.Cdr. H. Unwin, DSC, RN) and HMS Southdown (Cdr. E.R. Condor, DSO, DSC, RN).
At 1630/14 the light cruiser HMS Nigeria (Capt. J.G.L. Dundas, RN) and the AA cruiser HMS Curacoa (Capt. C.C. Hughes-Hallett, RN) joined the escort.
The battleship and her escort arrived at Rosyth around 1330/15.
16 Apr 1941
HMS Naiad (Capt. M.H.A. Kelsey, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral E.L.S. King, CB, MVO, RN) departed the Tyne for Scapa Flow.
At the same time the new aircraft carrier HMS Victorious (Capt. H.C. Bovell, RN) departed the Tyne for Rosyth escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Liddesdale (Cdr. A.G. West, RN), HMS Quantock (Lt.Cdr. D.J.A. Heber-Percy, RN) and HMS Southdown (Cdr. G.N. Loriston-Clarke, RN). HMS Naiad proceeded with them until the Firth of Forth when she was detached to continue her passage to Scapa Flow where she arrived later the same day. (1)
Sources
- ADM 53/114749
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.