Scale: 1:128. One of two finely-detailed metal-plated models in the collection that were made by M. A. Batchelor (see HMS ‘Kandahar’, SLR1554). This depicts the ‘Amethyst’ (1943) in dazzle-painted Arctic camouflage. Features include depth charge throwers, 25-foot motor boat, 16-foot planing dinghy and three twin 4-inch mark XVI guns.

HMS ‘Amethyst’, a modified ‘Black Swan’-class sloop, was built by Alexander Stephen, Glasgow, in 1943. She was used as a mine-warfare vessel and, in this capacity was involved in the sinking of two U-boats off the west coast of Britain early in 1945. In the famous ‘Yangtze Incident’, the grounded ‘Amethyst’ was held by the Chinese communist shore batteries between 20 April and 30 July 1949. An attempt to rescue the stricken vessel failed with heavy loss of life. It eventually managed to escape under cover of darkness in an epic dash for freedom down the Yangtze River.