This Week in History

HMS Hood and the last ‘Witch’ to be jailed!

HMS Hood was a built in Scotland for the British Navy.

Launched in 1918, it was the pride of the navy.

It was fast and well-armed.

HMS Hood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMQ5MnQ_bmE

At the start of World War II in 1939, HMS Hood was still the largest warship Britain had. She had earned the nickname “The Mighty Hood”.

Germany had started their own ship building to try and compete with other European navies. They knew it was important to be able to attack ships around Britain.

Why did they need a strong navy to overcome Britain?

Germany built two to rival the

Royal Navy’s own best ships. They were called the Bismarck and the Tirpitz.

The Bismarck launched first and headed for the Atlantic to attack ships bringing supplies from North America to Britain. The sent HMS Hood, and other ships, to intercept Bismarck.

Shortly after dawn on the 24th May, the Hood confronted the Bismarck and her escort ships. They started to fire on each other at a range of 10 miles.

Within 10 minutes of the battle beginning, the unthinkable happened. A shell from Bismarck pierced the weaker of the Hood and reached the magazine where the ammunition was stored. HMS Hood suffered a massive explosion and sank. The destruction was so fast and fierce, only 3 of the 1,418 crew survived. It had taken less than three minutes for the ship to disappear beneath the sea.

The Bismarck firing. Photograph of Hood exploding. Taken from one of the German ships at the battle. To give an idea of how quickly the ship would have been destroyed, we can look at the footage of HMS Barnham. This was a warship that sank in November 1941. Captured on camera, the explosion of the ship’s magazine is devastating for the vessel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdrISbwy_zI

The loss of life, and the Hood itself, was a shock to the Royal Navy. The government quickly moved to keep the sinking a secret.

Why do you think they wanted to keep it secret?

Which brings us to the witchcraft!

This is Helen Duncan.

She performed on stage as a medium (she

claimed she could summon and speak to the spirits of the dead).

During World War II, the Government kept some defeats a secret so it would not demoralise the people.

They wanted people to hear about victories and brave battles, not losses.

Following closely after the loss of HM Hood, the sinking of the Barnham was another big loss for the Royal Navy. So, this too was kept secret.

Helen was giving one of her performances in shortly after the Barnham sank. She told the audience that the spirit of a sailor from the Barnham had appeared and told her the ship had been sunk.

This brought her to the attention of the Navy and the police. Following a performance in 1944, a naval officer reported Helen to the police and she was arrested. She was charged under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 and sentenced to nine months in prison.

She was the last person to be jailed under the Act and it was repealed in 1951. It was replaced by the Fraudulent Mediums Act which Helen also broke in 1956!

Her supporters believed that she was sent to prison (a harsh punishment) to keep her quiet and stop her from revealing more secrets.

If you would like to learn more –

HMS Hood - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-45270946

The Bismarck - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0kBBmtvZpQ

Helen Duncan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As82uPOADrA