Treasures of sunken ship HMS Hood's captain go up for sale in Maidenhead

HMS Hood (Wikimedia Commons) and inset Captain Kerr (Dawsons)

In 1941, Captain Ralph Kerr sailed his ship HMS Hood out into the icy waters of the north Atlantic for what would be its final voyage.

The Hood, one of the Royal Navy’s largest and most powerful ships, had been dispatched to hunt down legendary Nazi battleship Bismarck.

But just minutes into its confrontation with Bismarck, HMS Hood was sunk with enormous loss of life.

Almost 83 years on from the sinking, a collection of war memorabilia belonging to Cpt Kerr and his family is up for sale in Maidenhead.

Peter Mason, senior valuer at Dawsons auctioneers said: “Given that the anniversary [of HMS Hood’s sinking] is in May I think it is poignant these pieces have come up at this time of year.”

HMS Hood anchored in Valetta, Malta

Cpt Kerr joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 and would go on to fight in some of its fiercest battles across the two world wars.

He was given command of the 47,000 tonne battlecruiser HMS Hood in early 1941.

Later that year, the Hood joined HMS Prince of Wales in a mission to intercept the Nazi navy’s battleship Bismarck. 

The colossal vessels from both navies met in the Straits of Denmark, off the south cost of Iceland.

As HMS Hood closed in on Bismark - lining up to fire - it was struck by a shell from the Nazi ship.

The hit caused ammunition to detonate and the British ship to sink in minutes.

More than 1,400 people, including Cpt Kerr, died when it went down. There were just three survivors.

After his death, Cpt Kerr was awarded a World War Two campaign medal and the Atlantic Star - a medal for combatants who fought in the battle for the Atlantic. 

These medals, as well as other medals from his service in World War One and World War Two, are included in his belongings which are up for auction. 

In addition Cpt Kerr’s navy sword - valued at between £300 and £500 - as well as his portrait and a painting of his ship HMS Hood, will also go under the hammer. 

Captain Kerr's medal collection

“They’re all in pristine condition and still in the original box they’ve never been used,” said Peter.

“There’s also his sons medals as well, his son was killed unfortunately also in the Second World War in Burma (now Myanmar) – they were issued after his death.

The medal collection is expected to fetch between £3,000 to £5,000.

Peter added: “They’re all standard issue World War One and World War Two medals -   the same medals everyone will have got from those wars.

“But the difference here is who they belong to, that’s what makes them stand out.”

Cpt Kerr