Charles Walter Dobson
| Date of birth: | 21st March 1919 |
| Place of birth: | Poole, Dorset |
| Service No.: | P/SSX 19239 |
| Rank: | Able Seaman |
| Service: | Royal Navy |
| Vessel: | HMS Hood |
| Died: | 24th November 1941 aged 22 years |
| Death location: | At sea in the Denmark Straits |
Charles (Charlie) was born on the 21st March 1919 in Poole, Dorset, the son of Charles and Sarah E.
The family had settled in Regents Park Road, Shirley, Southampton by the time of WW2.
War Service
HMS Hood, a 42,100 ton Battlecruiser, was built on the Clydebank, laid down in 1918, completed and commissioned in 1920.
HMS Hood with HMS Prince of Wales in the background
Her armament consisted of:
8 x 15” (38.1cm) guns in 4 x twin turrets 16 x 6” (15cm) guns in 8 x twin turrets
6 x 4.7” (12cm) single open mount guns 32 x 40mm AA guns in 8 x 4 gun mounts 2 x 24.5 torpedo tubes.
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- Hood Crest
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- Hood in port 1928
She was sunk in an encounter with the German Battleship Bismarck on the 24th May 1941 in the Denmark Straits with only three survivors out of her complement of over 1400.
Bismarck’s luck ran out 3 days later on the 27th when she was sunk by units of the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet; of the 2221 men in Bismarck just 114 survived.
Boldre Church
Charles’s name is recorded on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial – Panel 47, Column 3. See also the Hood Chapel, Church of St John the Baptist, Boldre. HANTS.
| Researcher: | Terry Randall |
| Published.: | 29th January 2015 |
| Updated: | Insert dates here |
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