IT was the Royal Navy's largest battleship of the 20th century, sunk in the early years of the Second World War by arguably that conflict's most notorious vessel.

One hundreds years on, surviving crew members and families of those who served on the HMS Hood gathered on the banks of the Clyde to mark the anniversary of the start of her construction.

At what was the once the beating heart of world ship building, the John Brown Shipyard in Clydebank, a poignant ceremony was held at the spot where the keel of 'The Might Hood' was laid in 1916.

Two sailors who served on the pride of the Royal Navy on the cusp of the hostilities with Nazi Germany travelled from southern England for the event.

One of very few of its crew still alive, Alec Kellaway, 98, a stoker on the Hood, travelled from Hampshire for the event.

He was joined by 97-year-old Commander Keith Evans from Surrey, who served on the ship right up until Britain declared war on Germany exactly 77 years ago tomorrow.

Sunk by the German Battleship Bismarck in the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941, HMS Hood was the final battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy.

It was struck near its ammunition magazines which subsequently exploded, causing the ship to sink. There were only three survivors from the 1,418 crew on board.

The sinking was the worst loss of life from a single British warship.

It sparked a huge Royal Navy pursuit of the Bismarck, which was destroyed three days later. The German death toll was more than 2,000.

Organised by the HMS Hood Association and held at West College Scotland in Clydebank, the memorial event included a film on the discovery of its wreck between Iceland and Greenland and recovery of its bell last year.

In the presence of family members of those involved in the ship's final action, a presentation on her construction was followed by the unveiling of a plaque, later to be mounted on an exterior wall at the college.

Commander Evans was based in Malta when he served on the Hood between 1938 and 1939. He told how during the Munich Crisis of 1938 how the battle cruiser was put on a war footing, escorting troops in ships along the west coast of France, Spain and Portugal.

He added: "We later moved to Alexandria as around Malta became very much the nasty zone as war broke out. During the war I served on another four ships, all of which were sunk.

"When I served on Hood she was the pride of the British Empire and had been for 2o years. She was 22 when she was sunk by the Bismarck, which was only a few months old.

"I joined the Royal Navy in 1937 and didn't leave until 1969, when I was around 50. Today's ceremony had a sadness in a way, lots of emotion. But it was also great fun meeting my old friends and people from the area. It's also sad from an employment perspective but the Clyde still very much has its naval presence."

One of the special guests at the event was 11-year-old Logan Gear from Luss. The schoolboy's great great grandfather was a riveter on the Hood, sparking an interest in the doomed cruiser which came to the attention of a former teacher, who happened to the wife of regional officer for the Naval Families Association, Mark Harris.

Logan said: "It's been a brilliant day. And the unveiling ceremony was probably the best bit. I've been studying the Hood since I was 10 and watched documentaries and drawn ships and named some after her.

"When she sailed down the Clyde it must have been such a sight. I really want to be a naval architect now when I'm an adult."

Mr Harris said: "When my wife told me about Logan I put two and two together and asked the regional command to get an invite to him. He's come along after he was sent a signed personal invite and has met the two remaining crew members."