Back in the late 80's I was employed by BP Tanker Co. On the way to the Suez canal our ship would have passed within 30 miles on the position where Barham sank. The captain changed course so we would pass over her. Which we did in the early evening. He slowed the vessel and a short service was held.
— Mike Buick, July 15, 2012

My father F. H. Robarts was a survivor of the sinking - he held the rank of Surgeon Lieutenant- Commander at the time. He only spoke of the sinking on two occasions as it upset him to recall those devastating events. Before he died he went on a cruise in the Mediterranean with my mother and he passed over the spot where the ship sank. He wrote a poem about his feelings in 1945.
— Adrian Robarts, February 1, 2012

George Branfield
Hopefully someone can help, were trying to find a picture of my uncle who lost his life on HMS Barham for a local historian. He's updating a book on the fallen of Coventry, and requires a picture of my uncle George. My mum, aunts and uncles have been unable to locate a naval service photo of him, but are hoping someone out there has one. Even if its a group photo that you have, and are unsure if George is in it, it would be a start for us. Many thanks in advance for your assistance, may their memories live on
— Alan Lawson, April 24, 2011

Mike Lynd
Once again the link to the HMS Hood poem has disappeared.

So here is yet anothert link to the poem:

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?ThreadID=16854
— Mike Lynd, April 27, 2010

Youtube Tribute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPyEC8zhg90
— JD Tom, April 4, 2010

Kenneth Hobden
Kenneth Hobden was one of the men killed when HMS Barham exploded, and he is listed on our War Memorial at Banstead in Surrey. A summary including photographs of Kenneth can be found at www.bansteadhistory.com/Memorial/2_H.html#HOBK. I am now writing a book on the men listed on our memorial, for our History Group, and would like permission to use one photo from your amazing collection. You have so many to choose from that I have not decided which one might fit Kenneth's story best. I will of course credit you as the source. Thanks again for a super site which is an excellent tribute to the men who died on HMS Barham.
— Lewis Wood, March 30, 2010

I knew from his R.Marines records that my grandfathers older brother Bob Hopper was on the Barham from 1921 - 25 and was on exercise in the Med. He sent a Christmas card to my grandfather from Malta in December 1924. The only photo we have of him shows him in Stewards Uniform on a previous Christmas card. In this collection I've found another of him - with other Ward Room Attendants, Malta, Christmas 1924. He's top right. This is the last time anyone knows of him. They lost contact and I found his death index in Portsmouth 1965. Sadly he was living only about a mile away from my grandparents.
— Sheila Appleton, March 27, 2010

hi, my grandad was one of the lucky surviver's on barham in 1941, my dad's dad, tho unfortunatly my nan and grandad divorced and my dad know's very little of him! i was wondering if anyone out there has any photographs of the men on the ship or know's ant information on my grandad...... his name was Kennith Sutton in was prob in his early 20's when the ship went down! many thanks ..... claire
— claire sutton, August 13, 2009

RE- Donald Rennison
Donald Was my uncle and i have only just traced details of his death. Both his brothers, Ernest(my father) and Philip Brian are dead.
— Sue Rennison, April 21, 2009

Awesome site, congratulations. My dad's a survivor, John Nealon Royal Marines. Living in England at present after many years in Africa. Great guy and my best mate, had lots of great photos which would have added a good royal marine touch to this site, but they were unfortunately misplaced at a passed reunion. Best wishes

Grant Nealon 21-10-08
— Grant Nealon, October 21, 2008

My dad Ernest Jones was a Boy Tel and a Barham survivor - 17 at the time of the sinking. I wish dad could have seen all this before he died in 1995 - he would have LOVED it! Dad attended the reunions prior to emigtrating to Australia in 1982. He would tell us some brilliant stories from his Navy days - I still have the blanket known as "dads Barham blanket" that he was given following the sinking - it feels like sandpaper but if it could only talk!! When dad died in 1995 the Australian Navy gave him a full naval burial at sea which was shown on Austarlian news and included footage of the sinking of Barham. Some weeks later the Admiralty presented mum with a sea chart showing where dad was buried with the exact spot marked with a blue cross. Mum has it proudly on the wall alongside dads medals and his Barham cap tally. We are all so proud of him and ALL of those brave men and boys that served for us. Great site!
— Carol Poole, May 23, 2007

barham presentation
i am a member of the sa military history society and nephew of survivor alfred duffell-canham.website helped a lot preparing for presentation i gave society on the sinking and family connection.keep it up& regards from sa
— peter duffell-canham, February 18, 2007

Charles Leslie Dean was a stocker, second class. He was my late fathers uncle. it was a great shock to his family being the only fatality in the Dean family throughout the war. We are very proud of him, and the job he did.
— michael james dean, February 1, 2007

thanks to you an important part of our history has been recorded.my dad john "shack" manning was a survivor off the barham and was hospitalised in alexandria with back wounds from the blast .unfortunatly he died in 1985 before information was shared in this way..many thanks
— mick manning, January 30, 2007

HMS Hood "Silent Night" song/poem
The link previously given below has changed and is now http://www.hmshood.com/crew/remember/poems.htm
— Mike Lynd, January 29, 2007

Sidney G King
...was my uncle, and he was lost when she went down.

This is a great site on the Barham, thank you for maintaining it. I am in the process of gathering as much information on Sid as I can. Any help would be appreciated. I have 1 photo of him in uniform that may be of interest. I can be contacted by email to slotstude@hotmail.com Many thanks Steve King, Sydney.
— Steve King, November 6, 2006

concerning Raymond somerton
Hi, my name is Dianne Somerton. I Googled my great Uncle Raymonds name and came across this website. This message is being left for Heather concerning her father. I can tell you what ever you would like to know about your father. I can give you pictures if you like. You can contact me at somerton22@hotmail.com. I would be more than happy to help you, your father was my life.
— Dianne Somerton, October 16, 2006

Donald Rennison, Coder
Trying to find out any information I can about Donald Rennison from York who died aboard HMS Barham aged 21 years. He was my Dad's best friend and although Dad is now 85 years old hestill has a photo of Don and often talks about him. I know Don worked for LNER Police and his parents Ernest and Pollie lived in York. Can anyone help? Many thanks.
— tim clark, September 12, 2006

Your father - personal
Your father's recent obituary in the Telegraph described a most wonderful larger-than-life man in a heroic mould. I don't know how you managed to grow up in his shadow. He seems to have been a sort of Biggles of the sea! I was so impressed I've photocopied his obituary to save - I don't want to forget him.
— Mrs Meyer, August 9, 2006

survivor
hi researching my family history i found out that my uncle harry lake survived this terrible ordeal not only that but i'm led to believe he was for a time on the hood but transferred before the sinking. he would have loved this site thanks very much john
— john lake, February 23, 2006

Barham casualty
I have looked for the name of my father's best friend, Ronald Kennedy, who I belive died on the Barham, but I have not been able to find it in the casualty rolls. My father died recently, after going on to serve 44 years in the RN, and then retirement. I have his memoirs of the action in the eastern med at that time.
— Charley F, December 9, 2005

Thank you!!!
My parents separated when I was a small child and I have no memory of my father. After my mum's passing, I began a search for my missing father. Sadly, he had passed away about a year before I located an elderly uncle. He told me much about my father and included that he was a survivor of the Barham sinking. I knew very little about this tradegy but thanks to this wonderful site I am able to put more pieces together. Uncertain whether or not anyone would recall him, his name was Raymond Somerton and came from NFLD. Apparently, he saved an officer from drowning and was awarded a medal but I'm unable to confirm this.
— Heather, December 3, 2005

Thanks for these messages.

No, I have no idea why his name would be missing from the survivors' list, although I do know that these lists do contain errors. Apparently there is someone who appears both on the survivors' list and on the list of casualties!
— Mike Lynd, November 21, 2005

Hi again

When I emaile previously I thought that Albert Sydney Dawes was a Petty Officer at the time of the sinking. This was an error - I now think he may have been an ordinary or Leading Seaman. He was born in November 1922 and entered the Royal Navy as a boy entrant. He became a Petty Office on a later ship. We are at present trying to obtain his Service Record, but are stil wondering why his name is not on the list. Thank you
— Jacqui & Keith Dawes, November 21, 2005

Hello, Not sure if you can help or may be direct me to a site or person who can.

Have just looked at your great site in connection with the sinking etc of HMS Barham. My father-in-law was also one of the survivours but I could not find his name entered He was a Petty Officer on the Barham at the time of the sinking. His name was Albert Sydney DAWES. Have you any idea why his name would be missing from the list? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
— Jacqui & Keith Dawes, November 21, 2005

HMS BARHAM football team
Thank you so much for this site i have been doing my family tree history for 5 years and been searching for my g grandfathers brother all this time noone could find anything of him after he was born a friend found your site and started screaming at me down the phone, "i got him i got him" she calmed down and tole me that she had found william Evan Roscoe, rank stoker 1st class died on the HMS BARHAM in 1941 on the 25 of november, then she said there was a photo of a football team, and that he could be on that , i have looked at the phot and not having another one to compare i was hoping somone out there can possibly put names to the team. i am now learning the importance of writting on the backs of every photo i have so my children and grandchildren will never be left wondering. thank you again Einir Roscoe
— Einir Roscoe, October 17, 2005

It is my understanding that the National Archive http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm has details of awards of medals and should be able to help with tracking down what was awarded to your grandfather. best wishes,
— Mike Lynd, September 30, 2005

Great site. My grandfather served on HMS Barham in the Battle of Jutland as a CPO. He was awarded a medal but with the passing of my father the story has gone. Any ideas how I can find out more about what happened?
— Andy, September 29, 2005

hms barham
thank you for the site , my uncle robert hornshaw survived the sunking but was injured and taken to alexandria in egypt to rcover , but while on jetty dutie he was killed when a british sub clearing its tubes fired a torpedo which hit the jetty and killed him , i,v got his small brown suit case which contains photos of the barham sinking , a funeral and attacks from germain planes, i would be grate full if eny one from the association who knew him could get in contact. thank you .

robert hornshaw 25th sept 2005
— robert hornshaw, September 25, 2005

Cobham GC
I am writing about Cobham as a GC and was thrilled to find this site. Would like to use the picture of the first day cover signed by him , the survivor list and a pic of the sinking - can someone please let me know who to credit - many thanks]
— marion hebblethwaite, September 19, 2005

Thanks again. What I really like is that a web site which I began for purely selfish and personal reasons is appreciated by others and is capable of moving others - hugely gratifying!
— Mike Lynd, August 4, 2005

Thanks again Mike
"Thank you" doesn't fully express what I want to say, I am so pleased I came across your site. For years I thought I had imagined the events of that Christmas night, as I seem to be the only member of the family who remembers it. I will pass on the this information to Joes' son , Phil and his Daughter, Anne as neither of them where present at the time. I'm sure they will find your site as stunning totally absorbing as I am doing. As I said, thankyou just isn't enough but I'm just stuck for words at moment, Jim
— Jim Smith, August 4, 2005

Jim, thanks for the kind words. The song/poem you refer to can be found on the web page at http://www.hmshood.com/crew/remember/Poems.html
— Mike Lynd, August 4, 2005

Thankyou
Typed "HMS Barham" in search after finding a Barham Christmas card among my Father-in-Laws posessions from his Dad who sadly went down with the Barham. Brian, my F-I-L died three years ago with no real memory of his Dad as he was just a baby at the time of his fathers death. I feel so sad Brian is not here to share this with us. At least now though Brians Granchildren will be aware of their Great Grandad, thankyou -I'm just a bit shaken to find so much informatiom on your site. Also, I was stunned to see a picture of the the Rodney and Braham together, my Uncle "Joe" Wainwright served on the Rodney. He, like so many never said much about the war, but one Christmas after a few drinks he took a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and to the melody of Silent Night he sang a song that told the story of the sinking of HMS Hood, which, I beleive he had witnessed. It was avery moving performance which left he never repeated. Does anyone know of this song or the words?
— Jim Smith, August 4, 2005

HMS Barham
My father's father Reg Doe served and died on the Barham. Seeing his name on the list of casualties brings many emotions ranging from sadness for the grandfather I never knew to pride in what he and all the other men on Barham did in the defence of freedom. Thank you for a fascinating and moving website.
— Peter Doe, July 26, 2005

Andrew Fraser Davidson
Glad to see you have included my Uncle Andys death notice. I have a lot including his phot etc
— Andrew Davidson, July 24, 2005

As my mother died recently, I remembered her telling me of her brother who died on the HMS BARHAM 1941.His name was ARTHUR JAMES THOMAS FIELDS died aged 18. I'm glad this and other websites are here its given me a sence of pride not only having an uncle on the barham but for all those that served in the second world war.
— janice coggin(nee neal), June 4, 2005

Very interesting. I am researching my fathers family tree, and his mothers brother went down with the Barham when it sunk (Stanley G. Clover). I have lots of original photos he took when he was on HMS Hermes in the early 1930's, when amongst other things he met Charles Lindbergh!... but as yet I've not found anything pics of him with the Barham...
— Paul, March 15, 2005

Thank you for this site - my great grandfather - James John Greenland - served on HMS Barham from 1915-1918 as a Chief Petty Officer. Great photo collection - thank you.
— Rohan Greenland, March 1, 2005

best pics ive seen..
many thanks to you! ive been looking for good pictures of a queen elizabeth class for ages. im building a1:96 scale hms warspite(1937era) and your pictures are excellent.. the dry dock pics showing the props are particulary important as its always difficult to find these kind of details... lets never forget the the last of the super dreadnoughts and those who sailed in them!!!
— paul gray, November 14, 2004

H.M.S. Barham
Excellent site and very important to keep the memory of all those who lost their lives. I still remember my Gran telling me about her nephew, Ronald Beacon, boy 1st class who was only 16 years of age when he died on H.M.S. Barham although his papers said that he was 17 yrs old. My Grandma recently remembered that the first the family heard of his death was the news reports showing H.M.S. Barham going down (assumably the very same footage that you have on the site) at the local cinema in Woolwich, S.E. London one evening... Thank you & kind regards.
— Ben Smith, September 22, 2004

A good site. My father Albert Edward Ford was an Ordnance Artificer on the Barham and lost his life when she sank.
— Anthony Ford, July 14, 2004

Revelations!
My grandad, Percival Davies of Rhostyllen, Wrexhan North Wales served aboard the HMS Barham, in the mid to late 1920's. I found the site very interesting as I thought he was a merchant seaman up to today!

Sue Hughes, Perth Western Australia
— Sue Hughes, July 5, 2004

Related
Fascinating site. My uncle, Richard C Davies went down on the Barham, so it was eerie seeing it all as if in slow-motion, this far into a future he would never see.

If any survivor knew Richard, or knew of him, I would be interested to hear from them.

Rose Davies Mandurah Western Australia 2 July 2004
— Rose Davies, July 2, 2004

A VERY interesting site. When we were at Teignmouth ( we always go to teignmouth for a summer break) we were made aware of "The Barham Cup" this is a trophy competed for by the sailing fraternity of Teignmouth. The actual trophy is kept in the "Town Hall" at Teignmouth, and I thought that there might be an image of it on your comprhensive site. I was not able to see it, so if it is there i'm sorry, but this year I shall try to get a photograph of the cup and if you wish email it to you for inclusion of you would like.
— John Barham, April 30, 2004

site
super site shame i did not know of this prior to November 2002 when my dad passed away he would of loved all this ...................
— andy johnston, August 31, 2003