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Jack Sweet visits St. John the Baptist - Yeovil
Robert de Sambourne did not live to see the completion of the new
church he began in 1380 but the fine building which rose on the site was
described over five hundred years later by the eminent nineteenth
century historian and archaeologist E. A. Freeman 'as one grand and
harmonious whole, as truly the work of real artistic genius as of
Cologne, or Winchester or St. Ouens'.
St. John's is a superb example of a Perpendicular church with its lofty
windows and light interior, and has earned with justification the title
of the Lantern of the West. The stained glass of the windows dates
variously from the mid-nineteenth century to repairs following blast
damage from the explosion of a bomb nearby in the Second World War. The
great east window, designed by Lavers and Barrand of London in 1859
depicts scenes from the Passion of Christ, and in one, Judas is shown
kissing Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. Around the head of Judas
is a Black Halo and in a window in the south transept, depicting the
Last Supper, he is shown in a similar manner. The two representations of
Judas with the Black Halo, which presumably expresses the darkness of
his soul, are probably unique in English church stained glass.
In the western corner of the north aisle the ensign of the Second World
War destroyer HMS Hesperus, Yeovil's 'adopted' ship, is displayed with
pride. The Hesperus was launched by Thornycroft as Woolston, Southampton
and was one of the last three of the H class originally ordered for the
Brazilian Navy and first named Jurvena. She was launched on 1st August,
1939 but when war broke out on the following 3rd September the ship was
requisitioned by the Royal Navy and commissioned as HMS Hearty in
January, 1940. However, because of possible confusion of Hearty with the
destroyer HMS Hardy, she was renamed Hesperus after the Greek evening
star. The Royal Navy, in giving this name to the new destroyer, although
usually anxious not to upset the morale of sailors, seemed to have
overlooked Longfellow's famous poem entitled 'The Wreck of the
Hesperus'. However, no harm was done and the ship was a happy, lucky and
very successful one.
The Hesperus saw most of her wartime service on convoy escort duty in
the North Atlantic under the command of 'The bulldog of the Atlantic',
Commander D. G. F. W. MacIntyre RN,
DSO and 2Bars. The role of the escort was vitally important to keep
our supply lifeline open and was a long, tedious and very unpleasant
task, battling with the North Atlantic and the German U-boats; it was
also very dangerous. The Hesperus contributed magnificently to the
defeat of the U-boat menace and on convoy duty and anti-submarine sweeps
she sank five of the under-sea raiders and damaged several more. On one
occasion she depth charged and forced to the surface U-357 which
Hesperus then proceeded to sink by ramming.
HMS Hesperus was 'Adopted' by Yeovil and District in National Savings
'Warship Week' in February, 1942 when the local people raised over
£300,000 towards her building costs.
At the end of her short but valiant life in 1947 the ensign of HMS
Hesperus was laid up in the church of St. John the Baptist.
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