Nautical antiques collector wants Rutland buyer for sign from Second World War convoy escort HMS Oakham Castle
The owner of a rare piece of naval memorabilia would like to see it brought ‘home’ when it goes to auction.
Geoff Pringle, who grew up in Uppingham, is selling one of two surviving signboards from HMS Oakham Castle, which served in the Second World War.
Having settled in Somerset, Geoff, who runs the nautical antiques and aviation collectables business www.oldnautibits.com, bought the sign in 2005 and hung it up at home.
“When I spotted it for sale in the West Country, it brought memories flooding back of the county I loved during my formative years,” he explained. “It had to be mine!
“Times, however, move on, so with a new design scheme for our kitchen, it’s finally time to find a new owner.”
The other remaining HMS Oakham Castle signboard is on display in Rutland County Museum, and Geoff would like to see a similar use for his piece.
“I would love it to go to a new home where it goes on public display and what better place than somewhere in the county,” he said.
Geoff grew up in the town in the 1950s and 1960s where his late father was a housemaster at Uppingham School.
“I’ve been a collector all my life, and with my father serving with Bomber Command in the Second World War, I’ve always had a specific interest in aviation-related items.
“I’m also a sailor and scuba diver so my interests extend to nautical antiques.”
HMS Oakham Castle was built in Glasgow, as part of a shipment of Castle Class corvettes, and launched on July 20, 1944.
At 225ft long and weighing 1,100 tons, she escorted convoys in the North Atlantic during the latter years of the Second World War.
Having dodged Nazi U-Boats she survived the war, and in 1948 joined the 2nd Training Squadron at Portland Harbour.
In December 1950 she was reduced to reserve and sent to Devonport, and after a 1953 refit was laid up at South Shields until 1957.
A transfer to the Air Ministry saw her re-named Weather Reporter on May 16, 1958 to serve as a weather ship with the RAF.
In November 1977, after a 33-year career, HMS Oakham Castle/Weather Reporter was withdrawn from service and scrapped at Middlesbrough.
The signboard will be offered for sale, with an estimate of £800 to £1,200, at the Charles Miller Auction House, in London, on Tuesday, April 26.
For full details of how to bid online, visit www.charlesmillerltd.com
