Paul Allen recovers HMS Hood’s bell as memorial for 1415 men who lost their lives

THE bells rang out action stations on the morning of May 24, 1941. Soon after, HMS Hood — and 1415 men — was on the seabed. Now billionaire Paul Allen has recovered one of those bells.

Warship HMS Hood in the early 1940s before being sunk May 1941 during WWII. British Armed Forces / Navy / Ship / History o/seas ships shipping heavy cruiser

THE bells rang out action stations on the morning of May 24, 1941. Soon after, HMS Hood — and 1415 men — was resting on the seabed. Now tech billionaire Paul Allen has recovered one of those bells to perpetuate their memory.

HMS Hood was Britain’s largest battleship. When she suddenly blew up, only three men survived.

Final shot ... The last known photograph of HMS Hood, pictured from the battleship King George V on the morning of May 24, 1941. Source: Imperial War Museum

Now, some 74 years after the tragic event, entrepreneur and philanthropist Allen has led an expedition to recover one of the ship’s two ceremonial bells.

Ships bells were a centrepoint of a naval military, social and religious life: Among other services they would sometimes be used as baptismal fonts for the newborn children of officers and crew.

The bell lifted from HMS Hood is history in itself. @RoyalNavy had preserved it from earlier Hood (1891-1914) pic.twitter.com/OZ8RgojQjG

— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) August 8, 2015

Permission to recover the ship’s bell from what is a designated war grave was granted by Britain’s ministry of defence after Hood’s last living survivor — Ordinary Signalman Ted Briggs — and the HMS Hood Association indicated a desire for it to become a memorial for the cataclysmic event.

Mr Briggs died in 2008, aged 85.

“There is no headstone among the flowers for those who perish at sea,” said Hood Association president Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks, whose uncle was among those killed. “The recovery of her bell and its subsequent place of honour in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth will mean that future generations will be able to gaze upon her bell and remember with gratitude and thanks the heroism, courage and personal sacrifice of Hood’s ship’s company who died in the service of their country.”

Deadly opponent ... The German battleship Bismark opens fire during the Battle of the Denmark Strait in which HMS Hood was sunk. Source: Imperial War Museum.

It took only one salvo each from Germany’s newest battleship, the Bismarck, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Many questions remain as to exactly how the British battlecruiser blew up.

It was the largest loss of life suffered on any single British warship.

Hood was the crowning glory of Britain’s Royal Navy. Her loss tore a hole in the heart of British society and wartime morale.

Hood’s wreckage — including the bell — was first discovered 2800 metres under the surface in 2001. The shattered remains, while confirming the battlecruiser’s aft store of ammunition exploded, has not yet revealed what caused the fire that triggered the detonation.

Resting place ... The bow of the HMS Hood among remains, which include substantial portions of the ship's hull, at a depth of 3,000m in the Denmark Strait. Source: Channel 4

An earlier expedition in 2012 was hampered by heavy weather. Attempts to recover the bell failed.

But, on Saturday, Mr Allen’s personal yacht and undersea exploration vessel M/Y Octopus finally managed to return to the debris field and pluck the bell from the mangle of metal and mud.

“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II, and this effort commemorates the hundreds of brave sailors who were lost at sea,” Allen said in a press release. “It is a true honour to undertake the expedition to recover the bell from ‘The Mighty Hood’.”

ROV was sent down to place flag on Hood wreck to pay respect. Of her crew only 3 survived http://t.co/d3CZQVg5Qn https://t.co/reUflBPNpJ

— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) August 9, 2015

After 74 years at the bottom of Denmark Strait, the bell is in surprisingly good condition. It will, however, still need to undergo 12 months of conservation treatment before it can be displayed in public.

The inscription it bears reveals it is actually an artefact from an older battleship Hood which served between 1891 and 1914. It was installed in the newly commissioned Hood in 1920.

“An engraving on the bell also records the wishes of Lady Hood who launched the ship in memory of her late husband Rear Admiral Sir Horace Hood KCB DSO MVO who was killed in the battle of Jutland,” director of Blue Water Recoveries David Mearns said.

Allen and his yacht Octopus earlier this year located and photographed for the first time the wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi off the Philippines.