Her back story is as follows
In 1896 when Kitchener, the Sirdar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Egyptian Army, set out to re-conquer the Sudan in the name of the Khedive of Egypt, eleven years after the death of General Gordon, he knew that not only had he to defeat a great host of dauntless Mahdist warriors, but also to overcome the huge logistical problem of supplying 25,000 men and 10,000 beasts of burden over great distances in one of the most inhospitable climates in the world. Control of the River Nile was vital.
Ships of the gunboat Flotilla were crucial to the success of the whole enterprise.
In 1898 4 ships of the Parrot Class were shipped in sections from England through the Suez Canal to Ismailia then towed up the Sweet Water Canal and the Nile to Wadi Halfa. These were HMS Toucan , HMS Parrot, HMS Cockatoo & HMS Macaw.
The crews were a remarkable mixture of British, Egyptian and Sudanese service personnel and civilians of many nationalities. The gunboats bristled with weapons � 12� and 12 pounders, 4-inch howitzers and Maxim machine-guns � manned by Royal Marines.
After the campaign most of the river gunboats remained in service with the Egyptian Army and later the Sudan Defence Force. But gradually, like all Old Soldiers they faded away.
Until by the eve of World War 2 there was only HMS Toucan gently rotting away at her moorings long stripped of her armament attended only by a skeleton crew from the Egyptian Naval liaison detachment of the Royal Navy and a caretaking crew of locals. Her machinery however had been lovingly maintained by Mustafa Faisel el-Kahir great grandson of one of the original crew who wished to honour her former glory
The Egyptian Naval liaison detachment was a dead end posting and tended to attract the scrapings of the Royal Navy , officers and ratings that their commanders wished to get rid of.
However Lieutenant Augustus Smallbrook had other ideas and decided to make HMS Toucan a useful unit of the Royal Navy and set about rearming her. A salvaged MTB gave her 4 torpedo tubes and a twin 20mm Oerlikon. Captured Axis equipment gave her an Italian 90mm AA gun , a quad 20mm AA gun and a 50mm gun. Dubious trades with other allied forces mainly of moonshine made in the ships boiler room acquired a 25 pounder and 5.5 inch howitzer.
The detachments legal status was blurred as it was officially part of the Sudan Defence Force gave Lieutenant Smallbrook considerable latitude of action although rumours that he obtained a letter of Marque from the Egyptian king was only a rumour. This gave him latitude to conduct a private war against the Axis coastal shipping.
