William John Dundas was born on 9 September 1923 at 18 Walker Street, Edinburgh, the second child and only son of David John Wauchope Dundas and Winifred Hersey MacKenzie. He had one older sister, Barbara Helen (born 1 Feb 1922) and two younger sisters, Hersey Mai (born 5 Sept 1926) and Ruth (born 29 Dec 1927). The family later relocated to Machany in Perthshire, Scotland.
William was educated at Bellhaven Hill School in Dunbar. In 1937 at age 13, he entered Dartmouth Royal Naval College. His father passed away during this timeframe (Sept 1938). He eventually joined the Royal Navy in late 1939 and was posted to H.M.S. Hood as a Midshipman on 06 January 1941. His family moved to Wardside, Muthill, Perthshire around this time.
He was at his post on the Compass Platform when Hood was fatally struck by Bismarck on 24th May 1941. He was able to escape by kicking out one of the starboard side windows and swimming away. He demonstrated great skill and bravery during the sinking and afterwards. This was demonstrated by his tireless efforts to keep the other two survivors awake/coherent and alive until help could arrive.
After testifying in the first inquiry into Hood's loss, he was given a new assignment. Because of this, he was unable to testify at the second inquiry. He is believed to have served on other ships such as H.M.S. Neptune, H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth and H.M.S. Kingston during the remainder of the war. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 Septemeber 1944. He subsequently served as 1st Lieutenant on the T-class submarine Telemachus, commanded by Cdr. William King, DSO & Bar, DSC, RN.
William's mother passed away in July 1946. The following year saw William, now living in Ochtertyre, Stirlingshire, marry Sylvia Booker of Glen Maye, Yelverton. Together they lived in Ochtertyre Lodge and eventually had three children.
Following the war, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander (September 1952), and he served in a number of ships/establishments. From 1952 to November 1953, he as assigned to H.M.S. Warrior. His next assignment was H.M.S. Diligence (November 1953 to August 1955). He followed this up with service in H.M.S. Starling from 1955 to 1958. His service in Starling was marred by an unfortunate incident involving a minor collision with another vessel. He eventually transferred to H.M.S. Gannet and served there until 1958 or 1959. He is believed to have left the service thereafter.
William was known to be a quiet and peace loving man and never freely spoke about Hood. The sinking would understandably trouble him for the rest of his life. Sadly, William was mortally injured in a car crash near Tyndrum, Argyll on Monday, 1st November 1965. He passed away the following day, 2nd November 1965 in Vale of Leven hospital.
When the H.M.S. Hood Association was formed, members of his family were contacted about joining. Sadly, they declined. We will continue to respect their wishes and will not disturb them. It is our sincere hope however, that they will one day join us. The Dundas family will always be most welcome to join us in remembering both William and his fallen shipmates.
