Ted Briggs

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

Albert Edward Pryke Briggs, MBS was born in Redcar, North Riding of Yorkshire on 1 March 1923.

In the summer of 1935 the battlecruiser HMS Hood visited Briggs' hometown of Redcar. 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 Briggs joined the Royal Navy one week after his fifteenth birthday. 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 battlecruiser 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 (50 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 out of the thousands aboard to survive the tragedy and is the only current 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.

Post-war service

• October 1945 - HMS Brissenden - Palestine patrols
• April 1948 - HMS Mercury as Fleetwork Instructor
• February 1949 - HMS Maidstone - Second Submarine Squadron
• October 1949- HMS Mercury - Cryptographic Instructor
• February 1950 - HMS Ceylon - Korean War
• July 1952 - HMS Mercury - Signal Instructors Course
• January 1953 - rated as Chief Yeoman of Signals served at CinC Eastlant Comm Centre
• November 1953 - HMS Indefatigable and HMS Theseus Training Squadron as Training Chief Yeoman
• December 1955 - Commissioned officer. HMS Mercury - Commissioned Communication Officer Course
• July 1956 - promoted to Commissioned Communication Officer
• September 1956 - HMS Ceylon as a Signals Officer - Suez Canal operation
• May 1958 - HMS Mercury
• January 1959 - HMS Sea Eagle (Londonderry) as Assistant Base Communications Officer
• December 1960 - HMS Mercury - New Entry Training Officer
• April 1961 - promoted to Lieutenant
• February 1963 - Assigned to HMS Loch Killisport as Communications Officer - 3rd Frigate Squadron
• June 1964 - Whitehall Wireless Station as Rating Control Officer
• October 1966 - HMS Ganges as Communications Officer
• June 1969 - HMS Drake (Devonport) as Officer in Charge of the Signal Training Centre
• January 1971 - HMS Excellent (Whale Island) as Officer in Charge of the Leading Rates Leadership School

External links

• HMS Hood Association (http://www.hmshood.com)

Adapted from the article Ted Briggs (http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.phtml?title=Ted_Briggs), from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.