On the 14th October 1939 HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by German U-Boat 47 while she sat at anchor in Scapa Bay, Orkney. Of the 1259 men on board, 835 were killed. Over 100 of them were boy sailors between 15-17 years old. The event still resonates with the relatives of those lost and the people of Orkney, a painful loss for an island community witness to such tragedy at what was believed to be a safe anchorage.
VIDEO: Fallen Oak – Surveying the wreck of the Royal Oak
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