Irwin Lucien Lloyd Adams
Previous occupation: Marine policeman.
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Ordinary Seaman
Service Number: JX185079
Joined Hood: April 1940 (Ordinary Seaman)
Left Hood: April 1941 (Ordinary Seaman)
Biographical Information: Irwin Lucien Lloyd Adams was known as Lloyd. His naval service was relatively short, as he was not 'Career Navy'. Serving in the Thames Division of the River Police before the outbreak of World War II, Lloyd left that service in March 1940 to join the Royal Navy. Family members recall that he underwent initial training in HMS Royal Arthur, then located in Skegness.
HMS Hood was Lloyd's first ship, immediately following his basic training. Given that this training lasted six weeks, it is likely that he joined Hood around April or May 1940. He was certainly onboard by the time of the tragic action against the French fleet at Mers el Kebir in July 1940, and his action station was manning one of Hood's 4 inch guns - her secondary armament. Lloyd was particularly upset by this action against sailors who, until shortly before, had been our allies - his upset increased by the fact that his mother was a French speaking Belgian and he himself spoke French fluently. The horror of Mers el Kebir was something that Lloyd never forgot.
Selected for training as an Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer of the Supply and Secretariat branch, Lloyd left Hood in April 1941 and continued his service in the RNVR, initially as a Temporary Paymaster Sub Lieutenant and later, following promotion, as a Temporary Paymaster Lieutenant. He left the Service on medical grounds in December 1944.
Back in civilian life, in addition to his early years in the Metropolitan Special Constabulary, he also experienced a wide range of other occupations. These included: working in the family iron-ore business; lead-smelting; farming; and ship-broking
Throughout his life, Lloyd developed numerous interests ranging from beetles (yes, really!) to square-rigged sailing ships and a passion for travel and learning about different cultures.
In his later years Lloyd was an active and respected member of the HMS Hood Association, who regularly attended annual events in Portsmouth and Boldre Church, and who, in 2016, travelled to Portsmouth to see the bell of HMS Hood, recently recovered.
Lloyd Adams lived to the ripe old age of 102, and passed away in January 2018.
Additional Photos |
 Lloyd Adams at home, just before joining Hood. |
 Lloyd after promotion to commissioned rank as a Temporary Sub Lieutenant (S). |
 Lloyd Adams in old age. |
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)
Biography and photos from members of the Adams family. Additional information from unithistories.com