Shipbucket

Haha! That's what my dad used to say: 'Join the army James, it's great. You get to see the world, meet interesting people and then kill them.'

Another actor fortunate not to have lost his life in the Battle of Denmark Strait was Ordinary Seaman Jon Pertwee. He had joined the crew of HMS Hood in November 1940 and was onboard Hood on 22nd May 1941 as she and HMS Prince of Wales left Scapa Flow. But at some stage during the two-day race to intercept Bismarck, it was decided to remove sixteen young crew members with Officer potential prior to the battle, Pertwee among them. They were told to pack their kit and be over the side in twenty minutes, where a trawler would transfer them to another ship and subsequently back to Portsmouth. Had he stayed on board he would certainly have been killed as his action station was "winding a small wheel in the bowels of the ship". Of the loss of Hood so soon after leaving her, he wrote: "It was a terrible, shocking thing, and I have never really got over it. To have had so many good friends die in the time it takes to snap your fingers."

So ... Why am I posting this? Well, because this Ordinary Seaman later went on to become an intelligence officer during the war, and after went on to become an actor. His name? Jon Pertwee, who any Doctor Who fans here will know as the 3rd incarnation of The Doctor.

And where was Ordinary Seaman Pertwee stationed prior to becoming an officer? Here is a little blurb:

Quote:
Another actor fortunate not to have lost his life in the Battle of Denmark Strait was Ordinary Seaman Jon Pertwee. He had joined the crew of HMS Hood in November 1940 and was onboard Hood on 22nd May 1941 as she and HMS Prince of Wales left Scapa Flow. But at some stage during the two-day race to intercept Bismarck, it was decided to remove sixteen young crew members with Officer potential prior to the battle, Pertwee among them. They were told to pack their kit and be over the side in twenty minutes, where a trawler would transfer them to another ship and subsequently back to Portsmouth. Had he stayed on board he would certainly have been killed as his action station was "winding a small wheel in the bowels of the ship". Of the loss of Hood so soon after leaving her, he wrote: "It was a terrible, shocking thing, and I have never really got over it. To have had so many good friends die in the time it takes to snap your fingers."