A Second World War D.S.C. group of five attributed to Surgeon-Lieutenant M. J. Hood, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Distinguished Service Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1943’, additionally inscribed, ‘Surg. Lieut. Maurice John Hood, R.N.V.R., H.M.S. Obdurate’, hallmarks for London 1942; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf, good very fine (5) £800-1000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals to the Medical Services formed by Colonel D.G.B. Riddick.

View
Collection

D.S.C. London Gazette 19 October 1943. ‘For courage, endurance and great skill in tending the wounded when H.M.S. Achates was lost’.

M.I.D. (Posthumous) London Gazette 6 June 1944. ‘For gallantry in going to look for wounded below decks when a Merchant Ship was torpedoed’.

Maurice John Hood was born in 1919, the son of Colin Hood of Glasgow. He was educated at the Glasgow Academy and Glasgow University and graduated from the latter with a M.B. in 1941. A keen rugby player, he played for Glasgow University and for the West of Scotland. After qualifying he became house-physician to Professor Noah Morris at Stobhill Hospital, until he was commissioned into the R.N.V.R. in June 1942. Twice during his short career at sea Surgeon Lieutenant Hood proved his outstanding bravery and devotion to duty:

On the first occasion Hood was serving as Surgeon Lieutenant aboard the destroyer Obdurate. The destroyer Achates, part of the escort for the N. Atlantic convoy ‘JW 51B’, was attacked and sunk by the German cruisers Hipper and Lutzow with six destroyers. When the Achates sank, 81 men were snatched from the water by H.M. Trawler Northern Gem. Twelve of them were badly wounded by shrapnel and the trawler signalled asking for medical assistance. H.M.S. Obdurate was detailed to put her surgeon on board. Icy conditions and a gale made it impossible for a boat to be launched so the only alternative was to bring the vessels alongside whilst running before the wind. At best a risky procedure but even more so owing to the wind and swell, the ships were brought together and Hood leapt from one icy ship to the other. Miraculously he landed safely aboard. Hood set to work and for some 30 hours operated on the wounded from Achates on the Northern Gem’s mess-table, with barely a break for meals. Captain Aisthorpe of the Northern Gem reported, ‘Half a gale blowing and Northern Gem rolling heavily made it imperative that the doctor should have a steady hand. Surg. Lieut. Hood was securely held by two ratings and he went to work.

Probing body wounds for shrapnel, shaving heads with an open razor to stop infection, setting limbs and attending minor injuries was a revelation for anyone to see. He was untireless in his devotion to duty ...’ Due to his care and attention, of the 81 survivors, only one was lost. In a final comment the Captain stated, ‘Personally, I have been going to sea for 17 years and I would never attempt to use a cut-throat razor when a ship is rolling(!)’. For these actions, Surgeon Lieutenant Hood was awarded the D.S.C.

On the second occasion Hood was again serving aboard the Obdurate in the N. Atlantic convoy ‘JW 56A’. On the American Liberty Ship, Penelope Barker, a man was suffering from appendicitis and Surgeon Lieutenant Hood was transferred to the ship to treat him. Three days later, on 25 January 1944, off North Cape, she was torpedoed by the submarine U.278. Ten men of the crew and Surgeon Lieutenant Hood were lost. He had managed to get his sick patient to a raft - he was picked up and survived, and later met Hood’s family. Hood died whilst searching below decks for wounded on the sinking Penelope Barker.

Sold with a folder of copied research: Gazette entries; letter from Hood’s father to the Admiralty informing them of his son’s bravery; report from the Captain of the Northern Gem; various Admiralty reports; obituary; copied photographs and extracts from various published works which recount the events.