Australian naval officers to make official visit

Three Australian naval officers will visit Orkney next month as part of an official visit to the county.

Commander David Stevens, who has been commissioned to write a history of the Australian Navy in UK waters, will be joined by Commander Henri Nord-Thomson and Commander David Hobbs.

Their trip will include a visit to the Royal Oak and Vanguard, on which two Australian sailors died, and the laying of a wreath at Lyness Cemetery.

All three Naval Officers will also be giving a talk at the St Magnus Centre on Tuesday, October 4, on the connections between the history of the Australian Navy, Scapa Flow and Orkney in general.

During the evening a specially framed print of HMAS Australia leading the German Fleet into Scapa Flow is to be presented to the people of Orkney.