Portsmouth City Council leader vows to tackle policy banning new monuments amid calls for HMS Royal Oak memorial

HMS Royal Oak in Portsmouth Harbour prior to the Second World War.The News PP1652

FAMILIES of those lost during the HMS Royal Oak’s sinking in the Second World War are set to attend a special commemoration event in the city this weekend, amid work to overturn council policy that is stopping a new planned memorial.

A total of 834 sailors lost their lives when the battleship was sunk by a German submarine in Scapa Flow in 1939, one of the first maritime disasters of the Second World War.

This weekend will see more than 60 relatives and Royal Navy veterans attend a special commemoration service in HMS Excellent, on Whale Island, to mark the anniversary of the historic loss.

Gareth Derbyshire, honorary secretary the HMS Royal Oak Association, said: ‘It has significant meaning for people attending.

‘The association for the ship was formed in Portsmouth, and many of men who were lost onboard came from or lived in the city. Many relatives will be attending this year, and it’s important to have some continuity of commemorations, especially in her home port.’

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The association says it has the funds to create and maintain a six-foot obelisk-style memorial along the seafront – but a council policy on monuments is stopping the work.

Gareth said: ‘It is probably the single biggest maritime lost tied to Portsmouth. The only dedicate memorial is one we unveiled to coincide with 80th anniversary, and that’s a stone plaque on the wall of St Anns 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.’

Portsmouth City Council policy states that the city has ‘enough’ monuments, according to council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who has vowed to work to overturn the rule with a council vote in the upcoming months.

He said: ‘Personally, I think it’s really important that people understand their history. This was a Portsmouth ship.’

HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a salvo of three torpedoes that annihilated the ship – damage that has echoed across the generations.

Gareth, who lost his grandfather, Leading Seaman Ronald Derbyshire, in the attack said: ‘It was always something I was brought up with – my father was deprived of his father. That’s a situation that stays with you for as long as you live.’