BROOKS Gordon Bernard

A letter from Gordon Brooks mother, Mrs J.A.E. Brooks, 109 Hallow Road, Worcester can be found within war records held at Worcestershire Archives requesting that his name be added to the county roll of honour. The letter states that he was a Stoker 1st Class with the Royal Navy.

A letter from Reverend A.B. Drew, St Nicholas Rectory, “Highbrake”, Whittington Road, Worcester dated 4th May 1950 can be found within war records held at Worcestershire Archives requesting that Gordon B. Brooks name be added to the county roll of honour.

Gordon Brooks was the second son of Bertram and Annie Brooks, who lived at 70 Tunnel Hill, Worcester in May 1941. He was educated at St. Barnabas School, Worcester and was a member of the St Barnabas Church choir as a boy. His older brother, Geoffrey, HMS Grenade, Royal Navy was killed during the Dunkirk evacuations in May 1940.

On 22nd May 1941 HMS Hood left Scapa Flow along with her sister battlecruiser Prince of Wales and a number of destroyers. Their mission was to intercept the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen before they could enter the Atlantic waters and attack Allied shipping. The two ships were sighted in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland. At 05.52 on the morning of 24th May 1941 the British ships opened fire on the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The German ships returned fire and within less than 10 minutes the battle was over. HMS Hood was hit by a number of shells, one of which triggered a massive explosion and led to the ship sinking in less than 4 minutes. Of her crew of 1,418, only 3 survived.

HMS Hood Association:
http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/b/BrooksGB.htm

Gordon Brooks has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Portsmouth Naval Memorial.