HMS Dido (37) was the lead ship of the Royal Navy’s Dido-class light cruisers, constructed by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead. Laid down in October 1937, launched in July 1939, and commissioned in September 1940, she was designed for anti-aircraft duties and convoy protection.Initially, HMS Dido escorted convoys in the Atlantic before joining the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet in April 1941. She played a significant role in the evacuation of British forces from Crete in May 1941, during which she was heavily damaged by German bombs.

After repairs in New York, she returned to the Mediterranean, participating in the Second Battle of Sirte in March 1942 and supporting operations in North Africa and Sicily. In September 1943, HMS Dido escorted troops to Taranto during the Italian surrender and provided naval gunfire support during the Anzio landings in early 1944. Later that year, she supported Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. In October 1944, HMS Dido escorted Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union and supported carrier strikes off Norway. In May 1945, she fired the Royal Navy’s final naval shot in Europe and accepted the surrender of the German Kriegsmarine in Copenhagen. Post-war, HMS Dido performed ceremonial duties, including transporting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to the Isle of Man in July 1945. She was placed in reserve in 1947, participated in the 1953 Coronation Fleet Review, and was decommissioned and scrapped in 1957.

A special boat badge from one of the motorboats onboard of this heroic Cruiser of the Royal Navy. The badge with ships name cast (faintly) on the reverse was cast in Chatham Dockyard. From the esteemed Ferrers-Walker collection that was once on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Dockyard.