14/10/2024
Here in Orkney we are very familiar with the story of the loss of HMS Royal Oak which was sunk at Scapa Flow on October 14th, 1939 with the loss of 833 officers and men. A detail not readily known is that 120 of those who perished were boy sailors, some as young as 14.
The story goes that when Churchill heard the news, tears sprang to his eyes and he muttered, ‘Poor fellows, poor fellows, trapped in those black depths.’
Each year on the anniversary of the disaster we gather at Scapa to remember all who were lost. This year, as I lay my wreath and pay my respects, I will think of those young boys so tragically robbed of their futures.
*Photo of some of the boy sailors taken from an article reported in the Daily Express.
