HMS Royal Oak: Memorial obelisk to be unveiled for sailors who died on sunken Royal Navy ship at 85th service

A memorial honouring the 835 men and boys who died when HMS Royal Oak was sunk will be unveiled to the public on Sunday (October 6). This will coincide with the 85th anniversary of the tragedy, with a service being held at The Victory Gate entrance of HMNB Portsmouth in The Hard.

The Portsmouth ship was attacked by German submarine U-47 on October 14, 1939, while anchored in Scotland. Over half of the Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys died. For Gareth Derbyshire, honorary secretary of the HMS Royal Oak Association, and others who lost loved ones in the attack, the yearly service will be a particularly poignant one.

He told The News: “It’s entirely appropriate to have a permanent memorial to HMS Royal Oak at her home port for the 835 men and boys on board who were lost, at such an iconic location outside the entrance to Portsmouth Naval Base. Hopefully, the day will go well, the weather will be kind to us and we will have something for all time to ensure the memory of our ship and our crew is maintained.”

Gareth’s grandfather Ronald Derbyshire, Leading Seaman, died on HMS Royal Oak at the age of 29. He added that the sentimental feeling of the service is shown by the volume of interest the association has seen from families of lost sailors who wish to attend. “There are a lot of them in and around the Portsmouth area,” Gareth said.

“Many of the crew lived and worked in the city at the time of the loss. It’s not right for me to speak for individuals or groups, but I’ve always been very proud of the fact that my grandfather served on Royal Oak and the sacrifice he made, and I’m sure all the other families feel the same. To have this permanent memorial, particularly to coincide with a significant anniversary, I hope will mean a lot to those families.”

The band and guard marching from HMNB Portsmouth at 10.45am, with the service starting at 11am. Hymns, blessings and prayers will be read, with the memorial being unveiled by sons and daughters of personnel who were killed on HMS Royal Oak. Wreaths will be laid to remember those that perished. Sea cadets and personnel from HMS Excellent, the HMS Collingwood volunteer band, a Royal Navy guard from HMS Nelson, standard bearers from veterans groups including the Royal British Legion, Royal Navy Association and the Royal Marines Association, will all be present among others.

Dignitaries including the Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire, the Lord Mayor and Mayoress of Portsmouth, Commanding Officers from HMS Excellent and Nelson, will also be there. It has been a long road for the memorial to be produced. Initial planning permission was granted in August 2023, with the HMS Royal Oak Association having to complete minor conditions such as a tree survey and providing samples of the materials used to construct the monument. Full planning permission was granted at the beginning of 2024.

Gareth said he has yet to see the final version of the memorial, but added that it mirrors the memorial installed in 2010 near the ship’s wreck. He added: “Intentionally, it will mirror the design and the specification of that memorial, a sister memorial if you like. It will complement the other memorials along the waterfront in Portsmouth, and at The Hard.”