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Last survivor of battle cruiser HMS Hood in the Second World War has died at the age of 85
06th October 2008
The last survivor of the sinking of the battle cruiser HMS Hood in the Second World War has died.
Ted Briggs, 85, from Fareham in Hampshire, passed away at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth on Saturday.
The sinking of the Hood on May 24, 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck during the Battle of the Denmark Strait shocked Britain.
The Bismarck's fire hit the ship's magazine, resulting in a catastrophic explosion which tore the ship in half.
It sank in less than three minutes and only three of HMS Hood's 1,418 crew survived.
Mr Briggs, a boy signalman aged 18, was sucked under by the sinking ship before being propelled back up to the surface.
He was soon joined by the two other survivors - midshipman William Dundass, who died in 1965, and able seaman Bob Tilburn, who died in 1995.
The trio spent three hours in the freezing sea before they were picked up by a Navy ship.
Television producer Rob White, who knew Mr Briggs well, said: 'He was quite a gentleman and what really struck me was his great modesty.
'If you said, "you're a hero", he used to say, "I was not a hero, I was a survivor".'
06th October 2008
The last survivor of the sinking of the battle cruiser HMS Hood in the Second World War has died.
Ted Briggs, 85, from Fareham in Hampshire, passed away at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth on Saturday.
The sinking of the Hood on May 24, 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck during the Battle of the Denmark Strait shocked Britain.
The Bismarck's fire hit the ship's magazine, resulting in a catastrophic explosion which tore the ship in half.
It sank in less than three minutes and only three of HMS Hood's 1,418 crew survived.
Mr Briggs, a boy signalman aged 18, was sucked under by the sinking ship before being propelled back up to the surface.
He was soon joined by the two other survivors - midshipman William Dundass, who died in 1965, and able seaman Bob Tilburn, who died in 1995.
The trio spent three hours in the freezing sea before they were picked up by a Navy ship.
Television producer Rob White, who knew Mr Briggs well, said: 'He was quite a gentleman and what really struck me was his great modesty.
'If you said, "you're a hero", he used to say, "I was not a hero, I was a survivor".'
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