Sam Hood was a well known commercial photographer in Sydney for many years. During WWII he would take photographs of service personnel, which were naturally very popular with friends and relatives.
In November 1941 H.M.A.S. Sydney was lost in an encounter with the German ship Kormoran. All 645 crewman died.
On December 31 Mrs Elsie Willis visited Hood’s studio at Pitt Street with her friend Edna Sparks. asking for photographs of men who had been aboard the Sydney.
Hood asked her if she had any relatives on the ship, and she told him she had a brother-in-law on the Sydney and that her husband was on H.M.A.S. Perth. Hood, she stated, then said to her, Oh, the Perth, I’ve kissed those boys goodbye. I am the official photographer of the Government. I saw the convoy leave. He then named some of the ships guarding the convoy and also spoke of American warships in Australian waters.
For Elsie Willis, Hood’s inference that her husband and his crewmates were doomed touched a nerve. Back in June there had been a (false) report on German radio that the Perth had been sunk.
Within ten minutes of leaving the studio Mrs Willis had reported Sam to Military Intelligence and he ended up in court. He denied talking about the warships, or saying ‘I kissed those boys goodbye’ He also said that when he realized Mrs Willis was grieving the loss of her brother-in-law he offered her words of sympathy.
However magistrate Mr Cookson said he had no doubt of all of the defendant’s guilt, commenting that it was highly unlikely that the women had concocted the story. He added that Sam Hood had been able to obtain knowledge regarding the movement of ships not accessible to the public.
‘It behoves such a man as Hood to keep a secret and not divulge it. In his case it is not idle chatter.’ (Sun, April 5 1942)
The whole episode must have been very painful for Sam. Like most people, he had close relatives serving abroad at the time. Mind you, if his reputation was damaged it certainly did not stop him working. In a newspaper piece published in 1947, (Daily Telegraph) when Sam was over 70, it was reported that he went to bed at seven o’clock and rose at five in the morning to travel to his Sydney studio from bis home in the lower Blue Mountains. The piece was accompanied by a very good caricature.
The following photo was taken just three weeks before Sam Hood died in 1953. He collapsed in the street while on his way to Central Station enroute to his home to Glenbrook. He was 83.
From an obituary after his death;
I last saw him on the morning of the day he died, walking briskly to the station to catch the ‘Chips’ [A nickname for the early morning train] to Sydney. I’m sure he would have wished to die as he did, ‘in harness’ . He could not tolerate idleness or timewasting; and the mere suggestion of retirement, even at his great age, always brought an emphatic shake of the head. The simple explanation was that Sam Hood loved the profession which he had adorned for so many years. In every respect the world is poorer for his death. (Nepean Times, July 2 1953)
FOR A VIDEO ON THE BATTLE OF SUNDA STRAIT, CLICK HERE.
And what became of Jack Willis after the loss of the Perth? Well, that’s another, amazing story. The following photo is a piece of sail from the lifeboat ‘ANZAC’, in which Willis and nine other survivors made their way to safety, albeit to become prisoners of war.
Everyone makes mistakes, and Sam Hood was not immune. It’s worth noting that one of his most well known images is of the Cenotaph in Martin Place, on Anzac Day 1930. Rest in Peace Sam.
