-H.M.S. Hood Crew Information-
H.M.S. Crew List

It is estimated that as many as 18,000 men served aboard the 'Mighty Hood' during the operational portion of her 21 year career. Unfortunately, there is no surviving official single listing of ALL men who served in her. Here you will find our attempt at creating such a listing. We are using the few, fragmentary crew lists known to exist, Navy Lists, various official reports, public records, and most importantly of all, inputs from the families of former crew.

Chainbar divider


Albert John Knott

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Date of birth: 30th March 1899.
Place of birth: Newbury, Berkshire, England
Previous occupation: General Labourer
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Leading Seaman
Service Number: J45237
Joined Hood: 7th January 1933 (Leading Seaman)
Left Hood: 30th August 1933 (Leading Seaman)







Biographical Information: Albert John Knott, a native of Newbury in Berkshire, joined the Royal Navy, as a Boy Second Class, on 15th October 1915, in the second year of the First World War. He was sixteen years old. Having turned eighteen, he began his 'man's time' on 30th March 1917, and signed on for 12 years. He was serving, at the time, in the elderly pre-Dreadnought battleship HMS Agamemnon, which was supporting the Gallipoli landings.

Albert married his sweetheart Margaret in 1925, which may have helped him decide to serve in the RN for another 12 years, so earning a pension. Albert served in HMS Hood, newly refitted, from January to August 1933. Albert's 22-year engagement ended in March 1939, following which he gained civilian employment in security duties in Portsmouth Dockyard.

Albert re-enlisted in the RN almost immediately after the onset of the Second World War. He was drafted to the Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) HMS Voltaire (a converted passenger liner) and, tragically, was one of the fatal casualties when that ship was sunk, on 9th April 1941, by the similar, but more powerful, German AMC Thor.



Additional Photos



Albert Knott (facing the camera, first in line) receiving his mess's issue of grog.




Albert Knott as part of a team cleaning one of the barrels of HMS Hood's 15 inch main guns. Photo taken in 1933.



Memorials
No known memorials


Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
'Register of Deaths of Naval Ratings' (data extracted by Director of Naval Personnel (Disclosure Cell), Navy Command HQ, 2009)
John Knott, grandson, biographical information 2021.