HMS Royal Oak 80th anniversary

A highly poignant series of images were shared in the King Street Halls, Kirkwall, tonight when “An Evening with HMS Royal Oak”  took place.

This was when a presentation, followed by an exhibition and virtual reality sessions were held, hosted by the Royal Oak Association, the Royal Oak 80 survey team, and Bill Spence, Lord-Lieutenant of Orkney.

Underwater images showing various everyday items on and around the ship were shared. They still lie untouched in Scapa Flow to this day, the wreck a protected war grave, and brought home the human cost of the tragedy in which 835 men and boy sailors died.

The ship sank in a matter of minutes 80 years ago tonight, after being torpedoed by a German U-boat, just after 1am.

Further details in The Orcadian on Thursday.