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Service marks 100 years since Scapa Flow navy scuttling

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Memorial service
Image caption A service was held above the sunken wreck of the warship Dresden

A poignant service has been held to commemorate the centenary of the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow.

More than 50 German ships were sunk in the waters off Orkney to prevent them becoming spoils of war on 21 June 1919.

A service was held above the sunken wreck of the warship Dresden,.

During the service a bell recovered from the wreck of the Von der Tann was rung by the grandson of German commander Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.

The mass scuttling was the single greatest loss of warships in history.

The nine German sailors killed that day were the last fatalities of World War One.

The final peace treaty was signed a week later.

Image copyright Orkney Library Archives/ScapaFlowWrecks.com
Image caption The German battleship Markgraf was among those scuttled in 1919

A ‘Scapa 100’ programme of events is being held to make the centenary.

Removed ‘stain of surrender’

It includes talks by experts, and performances by the German Navy and Royal Navy musicians.

A senior German officer declared at the time that the act had wiped away the “stain of surrender” from the German fleet.

During the 1920s and 1930s, many of the ships were lifted from the sea bed by commercial contractors and broken up.

The seven wrecks that remain are now classed as scheduled monuments.

Earlier this week it emerged that four of the vessels, which are now owned by a retired diving contractor, were being sold on eBay for more than £800,000.

Content provided by the BBC. Original piece can be found here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-48717820

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