Frederick Wood

Bank: Westminster Bank

Place of work: Foreign branch, London

Died: 27 February 1942

Frederick Aubrey Wood was born on 17 June 1909, the son of Frederick and Edith Wood. He joined the staff of Westminster Bank at its London-based Foreign branch in October 1926. He was known to his friends as ‘Rock’ and was a member of the bank’s staff sports club.

In August 1941 Wood left the bank to join the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. He served on HMS Electra in the Indian Ocean and was killed when his ship was sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942. He was 32 years old and left a widow, Lillian, whom he had married in 1937, and a young child.

Frederick Wood is commemorated on a bank war memorial held at NatWest Group Archives.