Remembering The Mighty HMS Hood and The Men Who Perished

By theorkneynews on May 24, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

On the 24th May 1941 the mighty Hood, a unique battlecruiser of her day, sank within 3 minutes. There were only 3 survivors – 1, 415 died on that day.

HMS Hood in the Clyde Courtesy of The National Records of Scotland

The story of HMS Hood, her construction, the hunt for the Bismarck and the work of the HMS Hood Association was the subject of a weekend of talks held online by Another Orkney Production (AOP) as part of their series Celebrating Scapa Flow.

The online talks, which are all available to watch on the Orkney International Science Festival’s YouTube channel, are fascinating and will be of interest to a wide range of people, including families of those who served on the Royal Navy’s largest battlecruiser.

HMS Hood in Scapa Flow, Orkney Library and Archive

HMS Hood had left Scapa Flow, Orkney on Friday 21st May . Leaving Scapa Flow involved the Wea Fea Command Centre Station, Hoy and the search for the Bismarck required an aircraft from RNAS, Hatston, Orkney.

Film buffs and older readers will know of the B&W film ‘Sink the Bismarck’ based on the novel by EM Forester’ The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck’.

What has been exceptional about the series of talks by AOP, has been the wider history of HMS Hood, the visit to Australia on the Empire Cruise of 1923 -24, the incredible construction of the ship at the John Brown Shipyard Clydebank and what life on board this unique vessel must have been like.

The talks conclude with a discussion on the finding of the bell of HMS Hood by David Mearns and the film ‘For Years Unseen’.

The website of the HMS Hood Association is not only a great place for the families of those who served on HMS Hood over its two decades but also contains a vast amount of information about the crew.

Click on this link : HMS Hood Association.

And the Facebook page: HMS Hood Association

These talks are highly recommended and expertly hosted by the Orkney International Science Festival .

The speakers included: Commander William Sutherland RN (retired), Commander David Hobbs, MBE, RN (retired), Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks, Captain Chris Smith Regional Commander RN Scotland and N Ireland, Graeme Lunn, Robb White, Ian Johnstone and David Mearns. All hosted and introduced by the team at OISF and AOP.