Able Seaman Joseph Wood, Royal Navy He was lost at sea on H.M.S. “Surprise” on 23rd December 1917 and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. H.M.S. “Surprise” was an M Class destroyer, captained by Wilfred Thompson and was lost in a German minefield near the Maas Light Vessel off the coast of Holland. She had only been launched in 1916. The ship had been picking up survivors from H.M.S. “Torrent” ( another casualty of the same minefield ) when it detonated two mines and sank in three minutes with 54 dead. 49 survivors were picked up by H.M.S. “Radiant” after over two hours in the water.