manu/mldr-zoomed-100char-total-queries-documents

chunk_id stringlengths 3 9	chunk stringlengths 1 100
135_59	and again escaped damage on 10 July when German aircraft attacked a convoy she was escorting in the
135_60	English Channel off Dungeness, although one ship of the convoy was sunk. She had frequent
135_61	encounters with German aircraft through August 1940.
135_62	On 25 August 1940, Versatile and Vimy were transferred to the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in the
135_63	Orkney Islands and on 31 August 1940 were ordered to raise steam to intercept a German naval force
135_64	reported to have shelled Eastbourne on Englands east coast. In early September Versatile escorted
135_65	Convy BAS 31 from the River Clyde to Iceland and received orders en route to alter course to avoid
135_66	a reported German invasion force bound for Iceland. On 11 September 1940, she, Vimy, and the
135_67	destroyer escorted the auxiliary minelayers , , , and of the 1st Minelaying Squadron as they laid
135_68	mines in the Southwestern Approaches in Operation SN41, after which Versatile remained on convoy
135_69	duty around Scotland for the rest of September. On 30 September, she cooperated with a Royal Air
135_70	Force Avro Anson aircraft in a search for a German submarine after the merchant ship Fort George
135_71	reported sighting a periscope.
135_72	From 3 to 5 October 1940, Versatile was part of the escort of Convoy WS 3A Slow during the portion
135_73	of its voyage that took place in the Southwestern Approaches, joining the destroyer in screening
135_74	the passenger liner Highland Brigade. During this activity, her Asdic and degaussing coil both
135_75	failed, and the following day she began to experience serious oil leaks into her living spaces.
135_76	After undergoing temporary repairs at Derry (also called Londonderry) in Northern Ireland, on 10
135_77	October 1940, she proceeded to the River Tyne for a refit and repairs.
135_78	1941–1942
135_79	Upon completion of her refit, Versatile returned to escort duty in the Southwestern Approaches.
135_80	Almost all the convoys she escorted came under German air attack. On 27 January 1941, her steering
135_81	gear failed in the English Channel while she was operating near merchant ships in rough waters and
135_82	with little manoeuvring room, but she managed to avoid a collision with the ships she was
135_83	escorting.
135_84	In February 1941, Versatile was transferred to Harwich for convoy defence duty in the North Sea.
135_85	She was in action along with the destroyer and corvette with German motor torpedo boats –
135_86	S-boats, known to the Allies as "E-boats" – in the North Sea off Lowestoft on 6 March 1941 while
135_87	escorting Convoy FN 26. On 13 March 1941, she attacked a submarine contact. She reported on 14
135_88	March 1941 that the merchant ship Hereport had struck a mine and sunk, and she rescued 11 survivors
135_89	and took them to Sheerness; that evening, a German S boat attacked her unsuccessfully. She reported
135_90	on 16 March that the merchant ship Mexico had struck a mine and sunk, and on 26 March she shot down
135_91	a German Messerschmitt Bf 110 that attacked a convoy she was escorting in the North Sea.
135_92	For the rest of 1941 and throughout 1942, Versatile escorted convoys in the North Sea, defending
135_93	them against frequent German air attacks. She was "adopted" by the civil community of Tipton in
135_94	Staffordshire in a Warship Week fundraising campaign in February 1942. On 12 February 1942, she was
135_95	one of the few British warships able to respond to the "Channel Dash" of the German battleships
135_96	and and heavy cruiser from Brest, France, to Germany via the English Channel, Strait of Dover,
135_97	and North Sea.
135_98	1943–1945
135_99	Near the end of 1942, the Royal Navy selected Versatile for conversion into a long-range escort,
135_100	and in January 1943 she left her North Sea duties and entered the shipyard of the Grangemouth
135_101	Dockyard Company at Grangemouth, Scotland, for conversion. After its completion and passing her
135_102	post-conversion sea trials, Versatile was assigned to the 7th Escort Group in September 1943 and
135_103	began convoy escort duty in the Western Approaches. She continued in this role until April 1944,
135_104	when she was selected for service in Force J in support of the upcoming Allied invasion of
135_105	Normandy, scheduled for early June 1944. In May 1944 she took part in exercises with Force J in the
135_106	English Channel to prepare for the invasion.
135_107	In early June 1944, Versatile deployed in The Solent with Force J to escort convoys to the invasion
135_108	beaches, and she and a Royal Navy Coastal Forces motor launch joined Convoy J 14 – consisting of
135_109	the infantry landing ship , 12 infantry landing craft, 24 tank landing craft, two antiaircraft
135_110	landing craft, one rocket tank landing craft, and one United States Coast Guard vessel – as its
135_111	escort on 4 June 1944. The invasion was postponed from 5 to 6 June due to bad weather, but on 5
135_112	June Convoy J 14 began its voyage to Juno Beach, arriving at its launch point on 6 June 1944 half
135_113	an hour before the landings. On 7 June, Versatile embarked Rear Admiral William G. Tennant, who was
135_114	in command of the Mulberry harbour operation and of the undersea pipeline effort known as Operation
135_115	Pluto, to witness the sinking of blockships off Sword Beach to form a Mulberry harbour. On 8 June
135_116	1944, she arrived at Portland to begin the daily escort of the EPL 2 series of tank landing ship
135_117	convoys between the United Kingdom and the invasion beaches.
135_118	Released from operations related to the invasion in July 1944, Versatile returned to convoy defence
135_119	and patrol duties, conducting them in the English Channel and Southwestern Approaches until the
135_120	surrender of Germany in early May 1945.
135_121	Decommissioning and disposal
135_122	Versatile was decommissioned soon after Germanys surrender, no longer being carried on the Royal
135_123	Navys active list by July 1945. By 1947 she was on the disposal list, and she was sold on 7 May
135_124	1947 for scrapping by M. Brechin at Granton, Scotland. She arrived at the shipbreakers yard on 10
135_125	September 1948.
135_126	Notes Bibliography
135_127	External links
135_128	Naval History: SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY, 1914–1919 – in ALPHABETICAL ORDER (Part 2 of 2)
135_129	HMS VERSATILE (D 32) – V & W-class Destroyer uboat.net HMS Versatile (D 32)
135_130	V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tyne 1917 ships
135_131	World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
135_132	Maritime incidents in 1922
136_0	Mary Newcomb (1893–1966) was an American actress who appeared on the American and British stage and
136_1	in films.
136_2	Early life
136_3	Mary Newcomb was born on August 21, 1893, in North Adams, Massachusetts, the daughter of Josiah
136_4	Turner Newcomb, and Sophie De Wolfe Newcomb. She grew up in New York City and La Grangeville in
136_5	Dutchess County, New York. She attended Lauralton Hall Academy, a convent school for girls in
136_6	Milford Connecticut.
136_7	Newcomb was an advocate for allowing women to vote, giving speeches with Carrie Chapman Catt and
136_8	Elsie Lincoln Benedict. She began lecturing on a suffrage tour when she was 17, addressing New York
136_9	crowds from Albany to Battery Park.
136_10	Acting career
136_11	Newcomb was discovered and encouraged as an actress by the distinguished actor Robert Edeson, who
136_12	heard her speaking as a suffragette in New York and recognized her inherent talent. Her "first
136_13	actual role" was in His Brother's Keeper, a production of Edeson's company.
136_14	Newcomb and Edeson were married on June 25, 1918. Mary appeared in “Sick-A-Bed” at the Gaiety
136_15	Theatre in New York in 1918. She was widely acclaimed for her performance in “Woman on the Jury” at
136_16	the Raymond Theatre in 1923. Other performances in her early years included “Easy Street” in New
136_17	York, “The Lady of the Streets” in Chicago in 1924, and Nighthawk in New York in 1925. They were
136_18	divorced in 1924.
136_19	Newcomb married banker Alexander Henry Higginson on June 28, 1925. Alex was from Boston, the son of
136_20	Henry Lee Higginson, a financier, and Ida Agassiz, the daughter of Louis Agassiz, a noted Harvard
136_21	professor. Alex was known as an accomplished yachtsman, steeplechaser, and fox hunter. After her
136_22	marriage Mary retired from the stage briefly and lived with Alex in South Lincoln, Mass. and the
136_23	Back Bay of Boston. With encouragement from Alex, Mary resumed her acting career in New York in
136_24	1927. Together Alex and Mary rented an apartment at 135 East 56th St. She appeared in “A Woman
136_25	Disputed” and then again in “The Distant Drum” by Vincent Lawrence at the Hudson Theatre. At that

135_59

and again escaped damage on 10 July when German aircraft attacked a convoy she was escorting in the

135_60

English Channel off Dungeness, although one ship of the convoy was sunk. She had frequent

135_61

encounters with German aircraft through August 1940.

135_62

On 25 August 1940, Versatile and Vimy were transferred to the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in the

135_63

Orkney Islands and on 31 August 1940 were ordered to raise steam to intercept a German naval force

135_64

reported to have shelled Eastbourne on Englands east coast. In early September Versatile escorted

135_65

Convy BAS 31 from the River Clyde to Iceland and received orders en route to alter course to avoid

135_66

a reported German invasion force bound for Iceland. On 11 September 1940, she, Vimy, and the

135_67

destroyer escorted the auxiliary minelayers , , , and of the 1st Minelaying Squadron as they laid

135_68

mines in the Southwestern Approaches in Operation SN41, after which Versatile remained on convoy

135_69

duty around Scotland for the rest of September. On 30 September, she cooperated with a Royal Air

135_70

Force Avro Anson aircraft in a search for a German submarine after the merchant ship Fort George

135_71

reported sighting a periscope.

135_72

From 3 to 5 October 1940, Versatile was part of the escort of Convoy WS 3A Slow during the portion

135_73

of its voyage that took place in the Southwestern Approaches, joining the destroyer in screening

135_74

the passenger liner Highland Brigade. During this activity, her Asdic and degaussing coil both

135_75

failed, and the following day she began to experience serious oil leaks into her living spaces.

135_76

After undergoing temporary repairs at Derry (also called Londonderry) in Northern Ireland, on 10

135_77

October 1940, she proceeded to the River Tyne for a refit and repairs.

135_78

1941–1942

135_79

Upon completion of her refit, Versatile returned to escort duty in the Southwestern Approaches.

135_80

Almost all the convoys she escorted came under German air attack. On 27 January 1941, her steering

135_81

gear failed in the English Channel while she was operating near merchant ships in rough waters and

135_82

with little manoeuvring room, but she managed to avoid a collision with the ships she was

135_83

escorting.

135_84

In February 1941, Versatile was transferred to Harwich for convoy defence duty in the North Sea.

135_85

She was in action along with the destroyer and corvette with German motor torpedo boats –

135_86

S-boats, known to the Allies as "E-boats" – in the North Sea off Lowestoft on 6 March 1941 while

135_87

escorting Convoy FN 26. On 13 March 1941, she attacked a submarine contact. She reported on 14

135_88

March 1941 that the merchant ship Hereport had struck a mine and sunk, and she rescued 11 survivors

135_89

and took them to Sheerness; that evening, a German S boat attacked her unsuccessfully. She reported

135_90

on 16 March that the merchant ship Mexico had struck a mine and sunk, and on 26 March she shot down

135_91

a German Messerschmitt Bf 110 that attacked a convoy she was escorting in the North Sea.

135_92

For the rest of 1941 and throughout 1942, Versatile escorted convoys in the North Sea, defending

135_93

them against frequent German air attacks. She was "adopted" by the civil community of Tipton in

135_94

Staffordshire in a Warship Week fundraising campaign in February 1942. On 12 February 1942, she was

135_95

one of the few British warships able to respond to the "Channel Dash" of the German battleships

135_96

and and heavy cruiser from Brest, France, to Germany via the English Channel, Strait of Dover,

135_97

and North Sea.

135_98

1943–1945

135_99

Near the end of 1942, the Royal Navy selected Versatile for conversion into a long-range escort,

135_100

and in January 1943 she left her North Sea duties and entered the shipyard of the Grangemouth

135_101

Dockyard Company at Grangemouth, Scotland, for conversion. After its completion and passing her

135_102

post-conversion sea trials, Versatile was assigned to the 7th Escort Group in September 1943 and

135_103

began convoy escort duty in the Western Approaches. She continued in this role until April 1944,

135_104

when she was selected for service in Force J in support of the upcoming Allied invasion of

135_105

Normandy, scheduled for early June 1944. In May 1944 she took part in exercises with Force J in the

135_106

English Channel to prepare for the invasion.

135_107

In early June 1944, Versatile deployed in The Solent with Force J to escort convoys to the invasion

135_108

beaches, and she and a Royal Navy Coastal Forces motor launch joined Convoy J 14 – consisting of

135_109

the infantry landing ship , 12 infantry landing craft, 24 tank landing craft, two antiaircraft

135_110

landing craft, one rocket tank landing craft, and one United States Coast Guard vessel – as its

135_111

escort on 4 June 1944. The invasion was postponed from 5 to 6 June due to bad weather, but on 5

135_112

June Convoy J 14 began its voyage to Juno Beach, arriving at its launch point on 6 June 1944 half

135_113

an hour before the landings. On 7 June, Versatile embarked Rear Admiral William G. Tennant, who was

135_114

in command of the Mulberry harbour operation and of the undersea pipeline effort known as Operation

135_115

Pluto, to witness the sinking of blockships off Sword Beach to form a Mulberry harbour. On 8 June

135_116

1944, she arrived at Portland to begin the daily escort of the EPL 2 series of tank landing ship

135_117

convoys between the United Kingdom and the invasion beaches.

135_118

Released from operations related to the invasion in July 1944, Versatile returned to convoy defence

135_119

and patrol duties, conducting them in the English Channel and Southwestern Approaches until the

135_120

surrender of Germany in early May 1945.

135_121

Decommissioning and disposal

135_122

Versatile was decommissioned soon after Germanys surrender, no longer being carried on the Royal

135_123

Navys active list by July 1945. By 1947 she was on the disposal list, and she was sold on 7 May

135_124

1947 for scrapping by M. Brechin at Granton, Scotland. She arrived at the shipbreakers yard on 10

135_125

September 1948.

135_126

Notes Bibliography

135_127

External links

135_128

Naval History: SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY, 1914–1919 – in ALPHABETICAL ORDER (Part 2 of 2)

135_129

HMS VERSATILE (D 32) – V & W-class Destroyer uboat.net HMS Versatile (D 32)

135_130

V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tyne 1917 ships

135_131

World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom

135_132

Maritime incidents in 1922

136_0

Mary Newcomb (1893–1966) was an American actress who appeared on the American and British stage and

136_1

in films.

136_2

Early life

136_3

Mary Newcomb was born on August 21, 1893, in North Adams, Massachusetts, the daughter of Josiah

136_4

Turner Newcomb, and Sophie De Wolfe Newcomb. She grew up in New York City and La Grangeville in

136_5

Dutchess County, New York. She attended Lauralton Hall Academy, a convent school for girls in

136_6

Milford Connecticut.

136_7

Newcomb was an advocate for allowing women to vote, giving speeches with Carrie Chapman Catt and

136_8

Elsie Lincoln Benedict. She began lecturing on a suffrage tour when she was 17, addressing New York

136_9

crowds from Albany to Battery Park.

136_10

Acting career

136_11

Newcomb was discovered and encouraged as an actress by the distinguished actor Robert Edeson, who

136_12

heard her speaking as a suffragette in New York and recognized her inherent talent. Her "first

136_13

actual role" was in His Brother's Keeper, a production of Edeson's company.

136_14

Newcomb and Edeson were married on June 25, 1918. Mary appeared in “Sick-A-Bed” at the Gaiety

136_15

Theatre in New York in 1918. She was widely acclaimed for her performance in “Woman on the Jury” at

136_16

the Raymond Theatre in 1923. Other performances in her early years included “Easy Street” in New

136_17

York, “The Lady of the Streets” in Chicago in 1924, and Nighthawk in New York in 1925. They were

136_18

divorced in 1924.

136_19

Newcomb married banker Alexander Henry Higginson on June 28, 1925. Alex was from Boston, the son of

136_20

Henry Lee Higginson, a financier, and Ida Agassiz, the daughter of Louis Agassiz, a noted Harvard

136_21

professor. Alex was known as an accomplished yachtsman, steeplechaser, and fox hunter. After her

136_22

marriage Mary retired from the stage briefly and lived with Alex in South Lincoln, Mass. and the

136_23

Back Bay of Boston. With encouragement from Alex, Mary resumed her acting career in New York in

136_24

1927. Together Alex and Mary rented an apartment at 135 East 56th St. She appeared in “A Woman

136_25

Disputed” and then again in “The Distant Drum” by Vincent Lawrence at the Hudson Theatre. At that