-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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Herbert Mark Watson

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Date of birth: 1st November 1889
Place of birth: Brighton, Sussex, England
Previous occupation: Clerk
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Petty Officer Telegraphist
Service Number: 235743
Joined Hood: 24th August 1921
Left Hood: 22nd April 1922







Biographical Information: Although born in Sussex, Herbert Mark Watson was a Devonport-based rating throughout his career. He joined the Royal Navy on 11th January 1906, at the age of 16, as a Boy 2nd Class. He was advanced successively to Ordinary Seaman then, in 1908, to Able Seaman, while serving in HMS Monmouth.

At that point he specialised as a Telegraphist, in a relatively new branch. Herbert was serving in the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Canopus in 1914, and so would have been involved in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December that year, in which Canopus fired the first shots.

Herbert was successful in his new branch, and by the time he came to serve in Hood in 1921, he had achieved the rate of Petty Officer. In January 1929 he was promoted to CPO Telegraphist and in November that same year, having achieved 22 years' 'Man's Time', he qualified for a naval pension.

Herbert remained in the service during part of World War II.

Herbert's talents were clear from his RN service record, and his family have told us that he was a well-educated and academic man, a talented and accomplished musician. He found it difficult to cope with the stresses and pressures of family life, however, and eventually left his wife Gladys and their five children around 1936, having little contact with them thereafter. Registers of England and Wales show him living apart from them in 1939, in Truro. He is listed as ‘separated’ and his work is noted as ‘radio specialist’.

Herbert died in Plymouth in 1952.





History of ships served in and ratings held:


Date FromDate toShipRatingSource
11th January 190621st April 1906EmeraldBoy 2nd Class0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
22nd April 19069th August 1906ImpregnableBoy 2nd Class0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
10th August 190615th May 1907ImpregnableBoy 1st Class0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
16th May 19076th September 1907HogueBoy 1st Class0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
7th September 190730th September 1907Vivid IBoy 1st Class0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
1st October 190731st October 1907AmphitriteBoy 1st Class0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
1st November 190711th November 1907AmphitriteOrdinary Seaman0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
12th November 190721st February 1908KentOrdinary Seaman0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
22nd February 190829th April 1908KentAble Seaman0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
30th April 190829th April 1910MonmouthTelegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
30th April 191012th March 1912MonmouthLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
13th March 191220th May 1912HawkeLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
21st May 191227th September 1912Vivid ILeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
28th September 19129th January 1913DefianceLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
10th January 191323rd June 1914CollingwoodLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
24th June 191429th July 1914Vivid ILeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
30th July 191411th March 1915CanopusLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
12th March 19155th May 1916CanopusPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
6th May 191630th May 1916VividPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
31st May 191628th July 1916DefiancePetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
29th July 191621st August 1917GangesPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
22nd August 191712th September 1917DefiancePetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
13th September 191714th September 1919CaesarPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
15th September 191930th June 1921Vivid IPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
1st July 192123rd August 1921GloriousPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
24th August 192124th April 1922HoodPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
25th April 192221st May 1922SandhurstPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
22nd May 192225th May 1922SandhurstLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
26th May 192219th July 1922Vivid ILeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
20th July 192216th October 1922Victory ILeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
17th October 192210th April 1923Vivid ILeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
11th April 192330th June 1924ValiantLeading Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
1st July 192430th June 1925ValiantPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
1st July 192523rd February 1926ValiantPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
24th February 192631st October 1927Vivid IPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
1st November 192729th December 1927Victory IPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea
30th December 19271st January 1929ResolutionPetty Officer Telegraphist0
via WW1 Lives at Sea


Additional Photographs
None at this time.




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)
0 via WW1 Lives at Sea