My father served from in H.M.S. Hood from January 1928 to May 1929. He was born Maurice James Gurney (known as Jim) on 20 August 1910 at Dartmouth, Devon.
His service record is as follows:
Ship or establishment |
Drafted |
Left |
Rate/Comments |
| H.M.S. IMPREGNABLE | 19th March,1926 | 1st July, 1927 | Boy 2nd Class |
| H.M.S. EMPEROR OF INDIA | 2nd July, 1927 | 2nd January, 1928 | Boy 1st Class from 27th October, 1926 |
| H.M.S. HOOD | 3rd January,1928 | 16th May,1929 | Ordinary Seaman from 18th February,1928 |
| H.M.S. TIGER | 17th May,1929 | 1st May,1931 | |
| H.M.S. VIVID | 2nd May, 1931 | 11th November, 1931 | |
| H.M.S. WREN | 12th November, 1931 | 31st March, 1934 | |
| H.M.S. DRAKE (Shore Base, Devonport) | 1st April, 1934 | 15th January, 1935 | |
| H.M.S. HAREBELL | 16th January, 1935 | 11th June, 1937 | Acting Leading Seaman from 10th June, 1935 Leading Seaman 10th June, 1936 Acting Petty Officer 16th April, 1937 |
| H.M.S. DRAKE (Shore Base Devonport) | 12th June, 1937 | 11th July, 1937 | |
| H.M.S. ORION | 12th July, 1937 | 12th March, 1940 | Petty Officer from 16th April, 1938 |
| H.M.S. DEFIANCE | 13th March, 1940 | 23rd June, 1940 | |
| H.M.S. DRAKE (Shore Base Devonport) | 24th June, 1940 | 31st July, 1940 | |
| H.M.S. HALCYON | 1st August, 1940 | 1942 (exact date not known) | |
| Unknown | Date not known | Date not known | Chief Petty Officer (Temporary) from 1st October, 1944 Chief Petty Officer from |
| H.M.S. CONSORT | 1st October, 1947 | 20th April, 1949 | Chief Petty Officer (killed during the 'Yangtse' Incident) |
Jim died on 20th April, 1949 at 2.42pm near Tang Tu village off Rose island on the Yangtse River, China, aged 38.
Photographs
Above- Here are a couple of photos of Jim. The one on the left was around 1928 - around the time that he joined "Hood." The one on the right was taken just after the war - probably about 1946
