-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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Norman Mallett

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Date of birth: 28th July 1897
Place of birth: Stoke, Devon, England
Previous occupation: Boilermaker
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Engine Room Artificer
Service Number: M6276
Joined Hood: 1st July 1931 (Engine Rating Artificer)
Left Hood: 27th August 1931 (Engine Room Artificer)







Biographical Information: Born not long before the end of the nineteenth century, Norman Mallett enlisted as soon as he was able - on his sixteenth birthday, 28th July 1913. His naval record lists him as having been a boilermaker in civilian life, so clearly he had already made a start in an engineering discipline. Nonetheless he was still a 'Boy' in naval terms when he entered the Royal Navy. He was drafted to engineering training establishment HMS Fisgard within a matter of days, to begin his training to be an artificer - a member of the Royal Navy's non-commissioned cadre of skilled engineers.

It seems that Norman quickly decided that he relished his naval career: at the very beginning of his 'man's time' on his eighteenth birthday he signed up to complete 12 years' service. At the end of those 12 years he signed on to complete a 'full career' of 22 years, to end the day before his 40th birthday.

Norman's time in Hood was very brief - a matter of eight weeks in summer 1931. What is more, it seems from his service record that he was actually serving in the minor war vessel HMS Snapdragon, which was attached to the Battlecruiser Squadron at the time - only his personnel records were kept in Hood.

Norman remained in the Royal Navy until his 'man's time' was completed, on 27th July 1937. He then left the RN on pensionable terms. In August 1939, immediately before the start of the Second World War, he re-enlisted, but in June 1940 he was declared 'PUNS' - permanently unfit for naval service - on account of tuberculosis.

Norman died on 2nd September 1942, and his death certificate lists tuberculosis as the cause of his passing. Norman's name is listed on the website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a war casualty. Tuberculosis was something of an occupational hazard of naval service, and it may be that he contracted the disease when in service.


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)
Service Record: ADM/363/67(Ancestry)