H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Roll of Honour, Memorial to Commander Selwyn John Power Warrand

In Remembrance of
SELWYN JOHN POWER WARRAND

Commander Selwyn John Power Warrand, photo courtesy of his son, James Warrand, 2001

Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Commander
Date Joined Hood: 13 March 1940
Biographical Information: John, as he was known to his family and friends, was born in London in 1904. He and his wife Frena were the parents of Amanda, James and Joanna Warrand.

John is known to have been trained at H.M.S. Conway between 1917 and 1918. He entered the Royal Navy as a Midshipman in January 1922. His initial training took place at H.M.S. Marlborough and the RN College, Greenwich. He held the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant during his time at the RN College.

John was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant in January 1926. He was subsequently assigned to the cruiser H.M.S. Lowestoft for a brief period. In June 1926, after leaving Lowestoft, he was promoted to Lieutenant. The following year would see him serve briefly aboard the destroyer H.M.S. Vansittar.

From April to August 1929 he attended the long navigation course at H.M. Navigation School, H.M.S. Dryad, Portsmouth. Following completion of the course, he was assigned as a navigator aboard the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Furious. His next assignment came in July 1930, when he was assigned to the sloop H.M.S. Veronica. He remained with Veronica until September 1932.

November 1933 saw him serving as the Navigating Officer of the cruiser H.M.S. Neptune. He served in this capacity until January 1934. In February of that year, he transferred to the cruiser H.M.S. Devonshire. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in June of 1934. He served as Devonshire's Navigating Officer until February 1937.

After leaving Devonshire, John was assigned to the battleship H.M.S. Rodney. He stayed with Rodney until late 1939. His final assignment came in March 1940 when he was transferred to the battle cruiser H.M.S. Hood.

By early 1941, he was serving as an Acting Commander and as the Navigator of the Battle Cruiser Squadron. He was serving in this role when the Hood sank on 24th May 1941. John sacrificed his own life to allow Signalman Ted Briggs to escape the sinking Hood. We have no additional information.

If you have any additional details, please contact us.

Memorial Information
Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 45, Column 1 (click to view panel)
Conway Chapel, Birkenhead Priory
and
Hood Chapel, Church of St John the Baptist, Boldre, Hampshire

Additional Photographs
Photo of Lt Commander John Warrand, courtesy of Ann Halliday, May 2004

Above- John during his time in H.M.S. Devonshire
Below- John's signature, taken from one of Hood's 1941 log books
Signature of John Warrand, taken from Hood's April 1941 log

Signature of John Warrand, taken from Hood's April 1941 log

Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Navy Lists (courtesy of J.N. Houterman)
His children, James and Joanna Warrand (photo & information, July 2001)
Ann Halliday (Devonshire photo, May 2004)
Geoffrey Haskins (information, September 2007)