-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


Frederick Richard Bulger

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Date of birth: 24th September 1921
Place of birth: Bampton, Devon, England
Wife: Gladys May Hines
Previous occupation: Cycle factory hand.
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Ordinary Seaman
Service Number: SSX27657
Joined Hood: 23rd May 1939 (Boy First Class)
Left Hood: 10th June 1940 (Ordinary Seaman)






Biographical Information: Frederick Richard Bulger was on born 24th September 1921 in Bampton, Devon He had no siblings. Before he joined the Royal Navy in 1938 he was a cycle factory hand. His RN service lasted until 1946, and so spanned the whole of the Second World War. His time in HMS Hood lasted for over a year, during which time he attained the age of 18 and advanced from Boy Second Class to Ordinary Seaman. Among subsequent drafts, he served in the destroyer HMS Swift during the 1944 D Day landings off Sword beach, including its sinking by a mine there on the 24th June 1944. He also served in the elderly cruiser HMS Frobisher between December 1945 and September 1946.

After he left the navy in 1946 Frederick was a pattern cutter in the rag trade in London, where he met Gladys May Hines. They married in 1948 and had four children. Later, they moved to Perivale, West London, where he worked as an engineer at the famous Hoover factory. The family moved to Aylesbury in the 1960s and owned a shop. Once that closed, Frederick ran a garage, then finally was a manager at National Tyres before he retired.

Frederick enjoyed travelling with Gladys in their campervan. He was a generous, funny, hard working, dedicated family man who was practically minded. Gladys died in 1990 and Frederick passed away in 2003, in Aylesbury.



Additional Photos



Frederick with his mother.



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)
David Summers, grandson, photos and information April 2022.