-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.

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Leonard 'Popeye' Courtney

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Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Signalman
Service Number: J70956
Joined Hood: 1st April 1920
Left Hood: 14th June 1922










Biographical Information: Leonard was born on 15 May 1900 in Hull. Before joining the Royal Navy he was an apprentice Gas Fitter. He joined the service as a Boy 2nd Class on 15 May 1917 at the training establishment H.M.S Ganges at Shotely. By September of the same year he had joined the signals branch and was rated as Signal Boy until his 18th birthday byt which time he was serving in H.M.S. Canada. On reaching 18 he signed on for 12 years and was rated Ordinary Signalman. He joined Hood in April 1920 as part of her first complement and served in her until 1922. In 1924 Leonard bought himself out of the service and entered teh Royal Fleet Reserve. With gathering war clouds across Europe, he was again mobilised during 1938.


Additional Photos



"Ahoy there!" 'Popeye' at the signal lamp.



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)
Gill Thomas, Leonard's grandaughter, January 2009