Grandpa John (Jack) Hilton Louis acquired the sword with leather-based strap and scabbard from an expert diver a long time earlier who had recovered it from the wreckage web site of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Movement within the Orkney Islands off the north tip of Scotland.
Article content material
A corroded sword linked to a torpedoed Royal Navy warship — and gathering mud in a Victoria basement for greater than 40 years — went on show on the CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum Saturday and can finally discover its manner dwelling to the UK.
James Atwood, a retired Sea King helicopter pilot, was given the sword by his English grandfather within the early Eighties.
Article content material
And the 97 centimetre blade had an unimaginable story.
Commercial 2
Article content material
Grandpa John (Jack) Hilton Louis, who spent 5 years combating within the Second World Battle and retired as a serious, acquired the sword with leather-based strap and scabbard from an expert diver a long time earlier who had recovered it from the wreckage web site of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Movement within the Orkney Islands off the north tip of Scotland.
The battleship had been concerned within the well-known First World Battle naval battle of Jutland in 1916, however was an early casualty of the Second World Battle when a German U-boat slipped by way of a spot in anti-submarine defences and drilled three torpedoes into the ship’s starboard aspect on Oct. 14, 1939.
Royal Oak was caught abruptly with its watertight doorways nonetheless open and a fireball tearing by way of its decks. It capsized and sank in 13 minutes.
Retired Canadian Lt.-Cmdr. Paul Seguna, a volunteer researcher for the CFB Esquimalt Naval and Navy Museum, stated of the 1,260 sailors on Royal Oak that evening, 835 died. Amongst them was Peter Grosvenor Piddington, 20, from a squimalt household. The son of Main Arthur Piddington and Helen Piddington was a midshipman within the Royal Navy.
Dawn
Article content material
Commercial 3
Article content material
Atwood had no concept the sword from the Royal Oak had one other connection to Victoria, however after listening to in regards to the analysis on the ship and the native sailor who died aboard, he thought that the relic ought to come out of his basement and be placed on show.
He stated he launched Seguna to the sword his grandfather gave him throughout a night over supper, and the entire historical past began unfolding.
Given its potential historic significance, Atwood determined that the sword must be repatriated to the UK to hitch different Royal Oak artifacts within the assortment of the Scapa Movement Museum.
“I’m comfortable it’s going to a spot the place some of us will discover it significant,” Atwood, a third-generation army man, stated this week.
Seguna stated Scapa Movement Museum has expressed an curiosity in buying the sword primarily based on the supporting background info. He stated U.Ok. authorities in Canada have additionally been made conscious of the sword and the intention to ship itto the museum.
Till repatriation preparations are finalized, Seguna stated the intent is to exhibit the sword on the CFB Esquimalt Naval and Navy museum.
Commercial 4
Article content material
The museum on the Esquimalt base can be displaying a lithograph of an authentic watercolour portray associated to a go to by Royal Navy battle cruiser HMS Hood to Victoria’s Ogden Level and Vancouver in 1925.
Hood was misplaced on Might 24, 1941, in a battle with the German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The sinking within the North Atlantic’s Denmark Strait claimed 1,418 lives, with solely three survivors.
Three midshipmen who died had a Vancouver Island connection — Thomas Norman Kemp Beard, 20, of Victoria, Francis Llewelyn Lloyd Jones, additionally 20, was born in Victoria; and Christopher John Birdwood Norman, 19, was born in Duncan.
dkloster@timescolonist.com
Associated Tales
Article content material
Feedback
Postmedia is dedicated to sustaining a vigorous however civil discussion board for dialogue and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Feedback could take as much as an hour for moderation earlier than showing on the positioning. We ask you to maintain your feedback related and respectful. We have now enabled electronic mail notifications—you’ll now obtain an electronic mail in case you obtain a reply to your remark, there may be an replace to a remark thread you observe or if a consumer you observe feedback. Go to our Neighborhood Pointers for extra info and particulars on tips on how to modify your electronic mail settings.