BRITISH WWII HMS ROYAL OAK CASUALTY.

A rare and historically important sailors cap and effects belonging to a boy sailor who was one of the crew who died aboard the battleship HMS Royal Oak when it was torpedoed and sunk at Scapa Flow by the German submarine U47 in 1939. The items belonged to P/JX 157592 boy 1st class Gordon Gibson age 17. The blue top sailors cap is a standard issue ratings cap with the pale blue cotton lining of the period and is fitted with its original gold white embroidered cap tally “HMS ROYAL OAK’ now slightly tarnished and dulled with age. The cap retains its dark blue chin tape as was typical with the Royal Naval uniforms it has been stamped inside with the name ‘G.GIBSON’ in two places, one of which has been inked in. The cap is in very good condition with only one small moth nip on the crown near the edge and with minor fading and age stains to the lining. With the cap is a sailor’s black silk scarf for wear with the standard square rig ratings uniform. The centre section of the scarf has been customized by stitching the folds together in order to make it easier to tie and smarter in appearance. As with the other items the scarf has been stamped with Gibson’s name stamp, this time in white ink for the black scarf. These two uniforms were left ashore with his family in his issue linen bag, which is with the group, usually used for laundry. The bag is 25 inches by 15 inches and is also stamped with his name, which has then been over-stitched in cotton thread, a common task given to boy sailors as part of their training. It is likely that the cap and scarf were items of his kit left ashore with his family for best dress. On the 14th October 1939 the Royal Oak was anchored in Scapa Flow when she was torpedoed by the German U Boat U47 commanded by Gunther Prien, after a dangerous and skillful feat of navigation ,of the total crew of 1,234 men and boys 835 were killed or later died of wounds, Gibson being amongst the casualties. The loss of that many men, particularly so many boys, was a huge shock and national tragedy and had a major affect on wartime moral. Prien safely returned to Germany as a national hero and was decorated along with the entire crew, only to be lost in 1941 to a British destroyer. Gordon Gibson is remembered with honour on the Portsmouth naval memorial. Much research material accompanying the items.

Code: 93846