HMS ROYALIST commissioned at Greenock on 25th August 1943, and operated
as flagship for escort carriers, to Norwegian coast and against TIRPITZ.
Joined Medi fleet 7/1944 for south of France landings and Aegean
occupation. Early 1945 to East Indies for operations off Sumatra and
Malaya with escort carriers. At surrender of Singapore by Japanese
9/1945. HMS ROYALIST Returned to England 1/1946 to reserve at
Portsmouth.

ROYALIST was formally handed over to New Zealand at Devonport, England,
on 9th July 1956. She arrived at Auckland on 20th December 1956.

ROYALIST breakdown.

When returning from the Far East station after what was to have been her
last tour anyway, ROYALIST had to stop engines on 1st November 1965
after the discovery of serious salt-water contamination of condenser
feed-water, and badly damaged boilers and evaporators (“condenseritis”).
She was steaming past the Solomon Islands, off Bellona Island, about 80
miles south of Guadalcanal at the time, and drifted overnight until
towed 110 miles by the survey ship HMS DAMPIER into open water. ROYALIST
drifted for several days until the Brisbane tug CARLOCK took her in tow
on 7th November. HMNZS LACHLAN arrived from Auckland on 9th November
with much-needed fuel, mail, spares and stores, and escorted ROYALIST
the rest of the way to Auckland. Sufficient steam from one boiler was
raised on 11th November and CARLOCK dropped the tow the next morning.
ROYALIST arrived at Auckland under reduced power on 17th November 1965
and berthed. She was destored and paid off five months prematurely. She
was used as an alongside training ship at Auckland until decommissioned
on 4th July 1966.

ROYALIST had valuable fittings and equipment removed after
decommissioning and was sold in November 1967 to the Nissho Company of
Osaka, Japan, for breaking up. She left Auckland on 31st December 1967
in tow of the Japanese tug FUJI MARU, and arrived at Osaka about four
weeks later.

ROYALIST was the last of ten cruisers to serve in New Zealand since
PHILOMEL arrived at Auckland in July 1914. The full list, in
chronological order of service is: PHILOMEL,CHATHAM, DUNEDIN, DIOMEDE,
ACHILLES,LEANDER, GAMBIA, BELLONA, BLACK PRINCE and finally ROYALIST.

Her breakdown was not our proudest moment!

Source:-“New Zealand Naval Vessels” by R.J. McDougall, 1989, ISBN
0-477-01399-6

“New Zealand Marine News” Vol.19 No.4, Autumn 1968.