On this day, 24 May 1941, the pride of the Royal Navy, the HMS Hood was sunk in the Denmark Strait by Germany’s answer to the war at sea during WW2, The Bismarck. 1415 men lost their lives and were considered lost at sea that day, my great grandfather, Dennis Broadhurst, being one of them.
However, in that swiping moment, The Bismarck itself had sealed its fate. Let’s just say, you don’t sink the mighty Hood and not expect a massive retaliation. Just days later, following an intense hunt and chase by the Royal Navy to hunt down the Bismarck, it itself was sunk to its final resting place in the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean.
However a few years ago, an expedition was launched to locate and explore the wreck of HMS Hood, and to the expeditions surprise, they stumbled upon the ships bell. A decision was made and executed to bring the bell to the surface.
Whilst I was visiting the U.K. in December 2018, a great opportunity arose.
Following a discussion with the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. As a descendent of the crew, I was given the opportunity to have a private viewing of the bell as its exhibition had since closed but can now be viewed in a protective glass casing.
Words cannot merely express what an extraordinary moment it was, to stand before the bell, to see it, to feel it and feel a great sense of connection knowing that my great grandfather would have seen and heard this very bell all those years ago in the lead up to that fateful day. A truly incredible experience which I would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Natalie Fordham and the National Museum of the Royal Navy for the unbelievable opportunity.
As some of you may be aware from previous posts. I come from a long tradition and generations of seamanship, on the opposite side of the family, my great-great-grandfather was lost on the Titanic. My great grandfather and grandfather fought in the South African Navy, my late uncle (from who I bought my first boat Roamer), as well as my other uncle and my father, worked in the merchant navy. On my mother’s side, my grandfather and his family were sailors.
I guess it comes as no surprise that destiny would eventually lead me to sail across the oceans and the seas. Even though for a long time it didn’t seem it would ever go that way. But a wise salty sailor once told me in my introductory days of sailing… “You cannot escape destiny, she will find you…”.
A large part of everything I do regarding sailing is to make those generations before me proud of what I achieve with it since it seems I was genetically born to do it. It surprises me at times how well I’ve progressed through it, how comfortable I feel with it. On many occasions I’ve wondered how things come so naturally to me, I actually asked myself in a few instances, how do I know that? or how did I know how to do that? It’s like I’ve done it all before, but I guess it’s safe to say that sailing is in my blood and it is something I was clearly born to do given my insistent passion and love for it.
But in terms of making those I mentioned proud, I may not be the first sailor in the family, but I’m certainly aspiring to be the first single-handed non-stop circumnavigator in the family. I’m counting on the Golden Globe Race in 2026 to help me achieve that. Who knows, I could be the first South African to ever win it!
😎🙌🏻⛵️
Photo: Captain Marky Warren stands next to the bell of the HMS Hood at the National Museum of the Royal Navy
Location: National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
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