Princess Anne Visits Orkney

1 month ago 14th Oct 14:00

Britain's Princess Anne is to lay a wreath to mark the 70th anniversary of a Royal Navy disaster.

The Princess Royal is expected to attend a ceremony at Scapa Flow in Scotland's Orkney Islands today (14.10.09), where 833 people lost their lives when the battleship Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat on October 14 1939.

HMS Penzance will sail to the place where the ship went down for the service.

World War II had only just started when the tragedy occurred.

HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed while many of its crew were sleeping.

The attack was a total shock to those on board, and when the ship was hit again it sank soon after.

Despite the colossal loss of live, 400 people were saved.

Many of those who died were boys, while those who survived suffered from burns.

The shipwreck is now a war grave protected by the council, while there is also a memorial to those who lost their lives at Kirkwall's St Magnus Cathedral.