Alfred George Field
Place of birth: Hungerford, Berkshire, England
Previous occupation: Schoolboy
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Boy 1st Class
Service Number: J 96703
Joined Hood: Unknown
Left Hood: 22nd August 1922 (died)
Biographical Information: Alfred George Field was born in Hungerford, Berkshire on 3rd September 1904. He joined the Royal Navy on 12th March 1920 as a Boy Second Class, aged just fifteen and a half, entering the Service at Devonport in the hulk HMS Impregnable, a training ship. He joined the brand-new HMS Hood, his first seagoing ship, as a Boy First Class on 8th December that same year.
Tragically, Alfred was lost overboard on 22nd August 1922, just days before what would have been his eighteenth birthday. At that time, HMS Hood, accompanied by HMS Repulse, was en route from Gibraltar to Sao Vicente, in the Cape Verde Islands, as a precursor to a formal visit to Brazil to help celebrate that country's centenary.
Young Alfred disappeared when the ships were in the vicinity of Tenerife, and was presumed lost overboard. A Board of Enquiry was held on arrival at Sao Vicente, and a memorial service for Alfred was held in Hood on her return journey in October, near the spot where Alfred had disappeared. The order of service for his memorial service, which was retained by Alfred's shipmate Marine Gunner Ernest William Henry Andrews. (qv) is to be found below.
Poignantly, Alfred's service record in the ledger indicates that he had already 'signed on' to complete 12 years' adult service from the age of 18. He never reached that age.
Additional Photos |
 Front of the Memorial Ceremony Order of Service. |
 Order of Service, continued. |
 Order of Service final page. |
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)
Mr Peter Trigg, grandson of Marine Ernest William Henry Andrews, photos and information December 2022.