Heslops Local Advertiser 14/06/1941

Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail Tuesday 03/06/1941

Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail Saturday 31/05/1941

Heslops Advertiser 14/06/1941

Heslop's Local Advertiser 15/06/1946 reports:

Slowther - Felling, George, lost H.M.S. Hood, May 24th 1941.

George was born in Felling, Gateshead, Durham, on the 18th July 1910. He was the 4th son of Mr and Mrs Alexander Slowther of 11 The Drive, Felling, Gateshead.

George was educated at the High Felling Council School, and at the age of 18 he joined the Royal Navy. He married in 1939 Annie Hewitt, of Nursery Lane, Felling, Gateshead.

He had been in the Navy about 12 and a half years, of which about nine years had been on the H.M.S. Hood.

Two of his brothers were already in the Forces, one in the Army and one in the RAF.

He was aboard H.M.S. Hood on the 24th May 1941, when the ship was hit by a plunging shell from a salvo from the Bismarck.

Observing the gunnery duel on the Compass Platform of Hood, alongside Admiral Holland and his staff, was Ordinary Signalman Albert Edward Briggs.

When the Hood opened fire, the Prinz Eugen definitely turned away, and the Bismarck was thought to turn away. This I gathered from a conversation between the Admiral and the Captain. We altered course 30 degrees together and closed in to 12 miles range. We hit the Bismarck with our second salvo right amidships and the Bismarck did not open fire until we had fired about 4 to 5 salvoes. And then she hit us, according to the Squadron Gunnery Officer 'on the starboard side of the boat deck aft' causing a fire in the 4 inch (102mm) ready-use lockers.

When Bismarck's salvo struck the HOOD Able Seaman Robert Tilburn was sheltering under the forward bridge:

A fire started and it was a very fierce blaze, a pinkish colour with not much smoke. There were fairly small explosions, rather like a big Chinese cracker. I heard the explosions but could not see any results of them. The order to put the fire out was given and then countermanded because of exploding ammunition. After the fire had been going for a while and about 6 salvoes had been fired altogether, when we started to round to port, we were hit somewhere and the ship shook all over and a lot of debris and bodies started falling all over the decks.

Bismarck's second or third salvo straddled the Hood and at least one of the shell's plunged through the inadequately armoured deck amidships to the 4" magazine, causing a flash conflagration that spread in seconds down to the after 15" magazine. Its detonation tore the ship apart. On the Compass platform, Briggs witnessed the battlecruiser's final moments:

There was a terrific explosion, but the officer of the watch said to the Admiral that the compass platform had gone and the Admiral said move to after control. During that she had listed six to seven degrees to starboard and shortly after the Admiral spoke she listed right over to port. She had gone about twenty five degrees to port and the crew were trying to get away-by the crew I mean the men on the bridge-but the Admiral did not make any attempt to get away. I got out of the starboard door and there was the navigator just in front of me and the Squadron Gunnery Officer just in front of him. I had just got out of the door and the water by that time had got level with the compass platform. I do not remember anything more then until I found myself on the surface. The bows of the Hood were vertical in the water about 50 yards away and I was looking at the bottom of the ship.

On-board the Prince of Wales's Able Seaman Usher witnessed the destruction All amidships seemed to lift up into the air. After that the ship was surrounded by yellow smoke... All along the upper deck it seemed to be bubbling up as if boiling. This was the foc'sle only, the deck of which seemed to be bubbling like a frying egg....The next thing I saw was the quarterdeck coming up into the air and I saw the screws. After that the quarterdeck disappeared and all I could see was smoke.

Two hours later a destroyer picked up just three survivors, each on a separately Carley float, Briggs, Tilburn and Midshipman Dundas. Of the rest of the ship's company of 95 officers and 1,324 men there was no sign.

The Bismarck had received three hits... One was in the ship's side (at the bows). The second went through the starboard picket boat and detonated in the water. The third had gone into the port oil Bunker.

Source: The Battle of the Atlantic by John Costello and Terry Hughes. 1997, pages 146-7

George Slowther is remembered at Windy Nook on W95.01, and in List of Ships’ crews

Watch colour film of HMS Hood.
H.M.S. Hood Roll of Honour
The CWGC entry for Petty Officer Stoker Slowther