There were two separate components to the rivalry; the rivalry between the ports the ships drew their crews from, and the rivalry between the crews of the ships themselves. The former was spread throughout the whole navy, rather than just being confined to just Hood and Renown

The Royal Navy of the first half of the 20th Century had three 'home ports'; Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth. Before the 20th Century, these ports had been similarly important, with the three main offices of the Impress Service being at the ports. Every man entering the navy would be assigned to one of these ports. Ships would draw their entire complement from men from just one of the ports. This system gave sailors stability. They knew that they would always be returning to the same port after a tour of duty, and could settle their families nearby. However, it also led to rivalries between the three 'manning divisions'. This was largely down to local pride. Crews developed close associations with the towns they lived in, viewing them as their home. This, naturally, led to a desire to display the superiority of their home port over the other two. As RN squadrons would draw together ships from different home ports, there would be plenty of opportunity for these rivalries to play out. Any time ships from two different ports found themselves in the same harbour, there would be clashes. These might take the form of mockery and insults, practical jokes, or even brawls. Equally, crews would defend and support other ships' crews from the same port. The rivalry extended to sports, both within and without the RN. Football matches between the teams from the three dockyard towns were those teams' most well attended matches. It might even extend to their work. In 1893-4, Portsmouth and Chatham raced to complete two Majestic-class battleships (Majestic at Portsmouth and Magnificent at Chatham). Chatham launched its ship first, but Portsmouth was able to fit out quicker; in the end, though, the Navy would commission both ships on the same day to avoid further provoking the rivalry, especially as Chatham's delay fitting out was the result of delays by contractors ashore.

On top of this long-standing rivalry between Portsmouth and Chatham, there was a rivalry between Hood and Renown. The two ships served together in the Battlecruiser Squadron for most of their careers, giving plenty of opportunity for this rivalry to develop. There were several sticking points between the two ships. Hood was the largest ship in the RN, and well known to Britain's population. This led to a certain arrogance from her crew, which annoyed the crews of many other ships. Renown, meanwhile, had carried members of the royal family on a number of occasions, an accolade which Hood never held. The main inciting incident, though, was a collision between the two ships during an exercise in May 1935. The court martial held to investigate the collision was widely seen as a whitewash intended to exculpate the officers of Hood of any responsibility for the collision. The crew of Renown naturally resented this, feeling themselves to be innocent of any failings. In return, when Hood won the Atlantic Fleet Regatta in 1935, Renown's crew did not offer Hood congratulations, a fairly serious snub for the time. The crews took opportunities to mock each other. As an example, Hood's crew decided that Renown's preferred each other's company, and used a leave at Gibraltar to rub it in, mocking Renown while marching past.