-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


William Edward James Eames

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Date of birth: 21st February 1904
Place of birth: Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Acting Sub-Lieutenant
Joined Hood: 3rd November 1923 (Midshipman)
Left Hood: 30th November 1924 (Acting Sub-Lieutenant)









Biographical Information: Eames graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College, and was appointed to Hood for the Empire Cruise.

In later years, as a Lieutenant Commander, he was commanding officer of the gunboat Sandpiper in China from 1936-to 1939. The gunboat was bombed by Japanese aircraft in 1938, and Eames was acting British consul, arranging the evacuation of British subjects and other westerners from the war-ravaged area. He received special promotion to Commander for his good service.

During World War II he commanded the destroyer HMS Veteran, was awarded the DSC for destroying U207, and left the destroyer about a month before her loss. After the war he was naval attache to Belgium and the Netherlands (awarded Order of the House of Orange). He was appointed OBE in 1952 and retired in 1954 as a Captain RN.

William Eames died in 1967.


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)
Chris Bilham, coin collector, of Auckland, New Zealand, biographical information 2020.