Ted Briggs

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Albert Edward Pryke Briggs, MBE, (born 1 March 1923), is a British seaman and the last survivor of the destruction of the battlecruiser HMS Hood during combat against the German battleship Bismarck.

In the summer of 1935 the battlecruiser HMS Hood visited Briggs' hometown of Redcar, North Riding of Yorkshire. Briggs was twelve years old and was fascinated by the lines of anchored battlecruiser and desperately wished to serve aboard the ship. Briggs went to the Royal Navy recruiting office and attempted to enlist but was turned away due to his age but was told to try again at age 15.

On 7 March 1938, one week after his fifteenth birthday, Briggs joined the Royal Navy. Briggs was trained aboard HMS Ganges for 16 months. After his training he was delighted to be assigned to HMS Hood which he joined on 29 July 1939.

Soon thereafter World War II commenced and Hood was assigned to patrol and escort duty in the North Atlantic and also served as part of Force H in the Mediterranean Sea.

In May of 1941 Hood was dispatched to intercept the German battleship Bismarck in the Denmark Straits. Hood, with Ted Briggs aboard, encountered Bismarck and engaged her at long range. Bismarck returned fire and within minutes sent a volley of 15 inch (381 mm) shells crashing into Hood's bowels, setting off a massive explosion in her magazine, and breaking her in half.

Ted Briggs, on the compass platform near the bridge, recalls a huge sheet of flame followed by Hood listing rapidly. When the list reached 30 degrees Briggs realized that "she was not coming back". Briggs states that no order was given to abandon ship and that he found himself in the water about 50 yards (46 m) from Hood as her B-Turret went under. Briggs himself attempted to swim away from the vessel but was pulled under by her as she started toward the ocean bottom. Briggs remembers struggling, giving up hope, and then miraculously being propelled to the surface.

Briggs was only one of three men board to survive the tragedy [1415 confirmed lost] and as of 2004 is the only survivor still living.

After the loss of Hood he was assigned to HMS Mercury and also participated in the inquiry into the loss of Hood. He was then transferred to HMS Royal Arthur and then to the merchantman HMS Hilary. Hilary served as a Combined Operations Headquarters ship, at Sicily, Salerno and had the same role during the D-Day landings. Later he served aboard HMS Mercury as a Fleetwork Instructor. Briggs was promoted first to Leading Signalman in March 1942 and then Yeoman of Signals in March 1943.

Briggs remained in the Royal Navy after the end of the war and served until 1973 in a variety of capacities (see list below).

Briggs retired on 2 February 1973 and settled in the south of England. In June 1973 Briggs was made a MBE. In 1975 Briggs joined the HMS Hood Association as one of its youngest members and was elected as its first President. In 1995 Briggs again served as president of the organization.

Briggs has regularly told his story as a guest-speaker, lecturer, and subject of historical television and radio documentaries. In July 2001 Briggs visited the wreck site and released a plaque which memorializes the lost crew of the Hood.

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Post-war service

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External links

Adapted from the article Ted Briggs, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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