Service to remember warship mine deaths

A service at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial at 11am on Saturday, April 27 will mark the deaths of 837 men who died while serving on HMS Neptune and HMS Kandahar. 

The vessels were part of British Force K which had been tasked to intercept an Italian convoy bound for Tripoli on December 19, 1941. 

But disaster struck when the pair were damaged irreparably by mines laid by an Italian cruiser force.

HMS Neptune took a blow first, before HMS Kandahar was struck while trying to rescue her. 

HMS Kandahar was then sunk by a torpedo from Royal Navy destroyer HMS Jaguar, to prevent her capture. 

The disaster led to the Royal Navy’s fifth-worst loss of life during the war. 

The service to remember those lost is being organised by the HMS Neptune Association. 

Members of the group and their guests will adjoin for a talk with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission after it takes place, followed by lunch at the nearby D-Day Story Museum. 

For more information, got to hmsneptune.com????????????????????????????????????????