Further information (on explanatory board next to the plaque):
 
H.M.S.CASSANDRA AND THE ARCTIC CONVOYS.
 
H.M.S.Cassandra was a 'C' class destroyer, completed in July 1944. She was allocated to Arctic convoy duties with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. On 10 December 1944 she left Murmansk, escorting twenty eight ships on the return leg from Russia. Just before six o'clock next morning she was torpedoed by a German U-boat, and 62 crewmen, whose names are recorded on this plaque, lost their lives. Despite her bow being completely blown away, H.M.S.Cassandra was towed back to KOLA Inlet. She returned to home waters in 1945 and continued in service until 1967, at which time she was based here in Portsmouth. Service in the Arctic convoys carrying military supplies to Russia was probably the most arduous and unpleasant task given to any ship during the Second World War. In appalling weather conditions, the convoys were within range of German Aircraft, surface ships and U-boats, and long hours of daylight meant there was no respite from attack. Nevertheless the convoys provided vital support to sustain the Soviet struggle against Germany on the Eastern Front, which made possible the successful Allied invasion in the West in June 1944.
 
The names of those lost are commemorated on the CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL, Kent.
 
Details of those lost can be found at www.cwgc.org search against the name of the individual.
 
The ages and ranks of the above can be found at David Axford's site along with further details of the action.