Tributes to war dead on centenary of sea tragedy
Crews of HMS Opal and HMS Narborough remembered
It was a devastating loss which saw nearly 200 men perish after two Royal Naval destroyers were struck down during an unrelenting wintry storm.
But a century on after one of the worst tragedies in Scotland’s wartime history, civic leaders on Orkney yesterday led tributes to those who served on HMS Opal and HMS Narborough.
The two ships were searching for German ships and submarines laying mines off the archipelago on 12 January 1918 when they were ordered to return to Scapa Flow.
But as a fierce snowstorm intensified, they ran aground at South Ronaldsay and were wrecked on the rocks.
All but one of the 189 crew died, with most of the bodies never recovered.
The sole survivor, Able Seaman William Sissons, found shelter on a sea ledge and waited two days before he was rescued.
The gunner, who served on the Opal, later recalled the horror as the ship was swamped and, eventually, broken in two. “I jumped out & was left to the mercy of the sea,” he wrote. “Some officers were trapped in their cabins as they were battened down and could not get out.”
Yesterday, those who lost their lives were remembered during commemorative events marking the centenary of the disaster.
A wreath was laid at the Opal and Narborough memorial at Windwick Bay, near where the destroyers were wrecked. Those in attendance observed a minute’s silence after Royal Marines buglers sounded the Last Post.
Those gathered included Tim Jackson, from Gullane, whose great uncle, Lieutenant Edmond Bowley, was the captain of HMS Narborough.
“On a previous visit I’ve been to the cliffs above the rocks where the ships went aground,” he said. “That was a very moving experience and it means such a lot to me to be in South Ronaldsay and have the chance to honour and remember a very brave young man from our family, who was lost in such terrible circumstances.”
Lieutenant Commander Garth Atkinson, who represented the Royal Navy, described it as an “honour” to be in Orkney.
“It is a reminder that not all lives lost at sea during the wars were due to direct enemy action, but many were lost due to having to conduct operations in the ever changing maritime environment,” he said.