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Survivor of U-boat attack is laid to rest in sunken battleship in which 800 of his comrades died
By Daily Mail Reporter
15th October 2008
When three torpedoes from a German U-boat smashed in quick succession into HMS Royal Oak in the early hours of October 14, 1939, the result was devastating.
Within 13 minutes of the attack, she had exploded, rolled over and sunk - claiming 833 lives.
Just 375 crewmen survived. One of them was Fernleigh Judge, a 19-year-old Royal Marines bandsman who managed to scramble overboard into the freezing waters before being rescued.
Divers have laid the ashes of Fernleigh Judge, right, in the wreck of the Royal Oak
In the ensuing years, he never forgot the shipmates who lost their lives on that terrible morning. And now he has had his dying wish fulfilled - to have his ashes laid to rest in the hull of the sunken vessel.
The wreck of the 29,000-ton battleship lies on the harbour bed at Scapa Flow, Orkney.
Mr Fernleigh, who died from thrombosis aged 88 in May, was desperate to return to the remote Scottish anchorage to pay final tribute to his fallen comrades.
But he was unable to make the 600-mile journey from his home in Peterborough.
Royal Navy Able Seaman Billy Miller lays the casket, wrapped in a white ensign, on the sunken wreck, revealed below in an incredible sonar image
After his death, close friend and neighbour Patrick Lyons arranged for him to receive the final farewell he wanted.
His ashes were buried on Monday by a team of Royal Navy divers from nearby Faslane submarine base. They took the casket down to the wreck as part of their annual dive to replace the ship's ensign.
One of the divers, Able Seaman Billy Miller, placed the casket, wrapped in a small white ensign, through one of the portholes of the ship, which lies on its side around 90ft below the surface.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ades-died.html
By Daily Mail Reporter
15th October 2008
When three torpedoes from a German U-boat smashed in quick succession into HMS Royal Oak in the early hours of October 14, 1939, the result was devastating.
Within 13 minutes of the attack, she had exploded, rolled over and sunk - claiming 833 lives.
Just 375 crewmen survived. One of them was Fernleigh Judge, a 19-year-old Royal Marines bandsman who managed to scramble overboard into the freezing waters before being rescued.
Divers have laid the ashes of Fernleigh Judge, right, in the wreck of the Royal Oak
In the ensuing years, he never forgot the shipmates who lost their lives on that terrible morning. And now he has had his dying wish fulfilled - to have his ashes laid to rest in the hull of the sunken vessel.
The wreck of the 29,000-ton battleship lies on the harbour bed at Scapa Flow, Orkney.
Mr Fernleigh, who died from thrombosis aged 88 in May, was desperate to return to the remote Scottish anchorage to pay final tribute to his fallen comrades.
But he was unable to make the 600-mile journey from his home in Peterborough.
Royal Navy Able Seaman Billy Miller lays the casket, wrapped in a white ensign, on the sunken wreck, revealed below in an incredible sonar image
After his death, close friend and neighbour Patrick Lyons arranged for him to receive the final farewell he wanted.
His ashes were buried on Monday by a team of Royal Navy divers from nearby Faslane submarine base. They took the casket down to the wreck as part of their annual dive to replace the ship's ensign.
One of the divers, Able Seaman Billy Miller, placed the casket, wrapped in a small white ensign, through one of the portholes of the ship, which lies on its side around 90ft below the surface.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ades-died.html
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