Royal Navy: Plans for HMS Royal Oak memorial submitted to Portsmouth City Council

A planning application for the erection of an 8ft obelisk near the Historic Dockyard has been submitted by the HMS Royal Oak Association as it looks to provide a publicly-accessible remembrance point.

Despite having the money in place to fund the project, the association had been hampered by city council rules restricting the number of memorials in Portsmouth.

HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built during the First World War and more than 800 people died when it sank after a torpedo attack in Scapa Flow early in the Second World War.

The association was founded in Portsmouth with many of the sailors either coming from or having lived in the city.

Speaking ahead of last year’s commemoration event, its honorary secretary, Gareth Derbyshire, said it was important the memorial was erected.

‘It is probably the single biggest maritime loss tied to Portsmouth,’ he said. ‘The only dedicated memorial is one we unveiled to coincide with 80th anniversary, and that’s a stone plaque on the wall of St Ann’s Church in the naval base. We’re very fortunate to have it, but the only slight drawback is that you need security clearance to get in there.’

The association has already collected the funds for its installation but the planning application has only now been submitted due to the policy which said the city already has ‘enough’ memorials.

‘Unfortunately, it is not possible to continue to accommodate new monuments/statues and commemorative benches in the same way as in the past as suitable sites are limited,’ the council’s Monuments and Memorials Policy says.

The policy focuses on four ‘saturation zones’ where new memorials are not allowed, unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’. These are: Victoria Park, the seafront and Southsea Common, Guildhall Square and Old Portsmouth.

The choice of location now means the proposed obelisk falls outside of these, allowing its erection.

A deadline of June 15 has been set for a decision on the application.