Wreath laying to mark sinking of Royal Oak in Orkney

HMS Royal Oak served in both world wars

Wreaths are due to be laid to mark the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the battleship HMS Royal Oak.

The warship was torpedoed by a German U-boat, in 1939, while it was at anchor in Scapa Flow in Orkney.
Most of the 1,200 crew were asleep below deck, and more than 800 - including many boy sailors - died.
It will be the first significant Royal Oak anniversary not to be attended by any of the remaining survivors.
There are believed to be just three men who survived the sinking still alive today.
However, families of the the crew, and the community in Orkney, have vowed to carry on the act of remembrance for generations to come.
The Royal Oak, which served in World War One, is an official maritime war grave.

 

At the time of the sinking there were more than 1,000 sailors onboard

 

The warship firing during training

 

 The funeral procession marking the deaths of more than 800 men

 

The white ensign on the sunken ship has been replaced by Navy divers