Memorial service marks 76th anniversary of Royal Oak disaster

Memorial events marking the 76th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow took place today, Wednesday.

Following a service at the garden of remembrance at Scapa this morning, wreaths were laid over the final resting place of the ship below the cliffs at Gaitnip.

The Royal Oak was torpedoed by a German submarine in the early hours of October 14, 1939.

Of the ship’s complement of 1,234 men and boys, 834 were killed that night, or died later of their wounds.

This year’s commemoration was particularly poignant following the passing of Kenneth Toop, the penultimate survivor of the Royal Oak, earlier this year.