General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Then there is......British Sovreign Territory
Posted by:
John Griffiths
()
Date: May 30, 2001 03:11PM
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Hi Oliver,
>>A war grave comes into effect by declaration of the own government.<<
Yes, that\'s correct. No problems there!
>>In Britain the only Ship-War Graves existing are the HMS Ark Royal And the HMS Sheffield. <<
Err, not quite! There is, for example, HMS Hood up in Scapa Flow. There\'s HMS Prince of Wales in the Far East. There\'s also the ships lost in the Falklands conflict....vessels scattered around the coast of the UK....quite a few more than the two you mentioned!
>>Always when territorial rights of other nations are affected the whole thing becomes more or less a matter of good will of this nation to declare a war grave and to ensure the status.<<
I think it has also got a lot to do with old shipmates / old comrades associations who pressure and lobby governments to recognise the sacrifices made by crews during conflict. Good will has more to do, in the UK at least, with vote catching. Catch your MP at the right time and they\'ll scream the loudest hoping you\'ll remember that and vote for them! Memories of sacrifice are short in some circles.
>> Regarding this situation the US has shed not much -or no good will at all- to the german war graves in form of the german subs in US-waters.<<
How - more seriously - how would they police it? The USCG have more to do nowadays with drugs than policing wrecks. Also, with scuba equipment easily available and boats cheap to hire you\'ve created a business. Money talks, Oliver.
Sadly, not all people respect those who gave their lives fighting for their beliefs - no matter what flag they fought under.
Aye,
John</HTML>
Hi Oliver,
>>A war grave comes into effect by declaration of the own government.<<
Yes, that\'s correct. No problems there!
>>In Britain the only Ship-War Graves existing are the HMS Ark Royal And the HMS Sheffield. <<
Err, not quite! There is, for example, HMS Hood up in Scapa Flow. There\'s HMS Prince of Wales in the Far East. There\'s also the ships lost in the Falklands conflict....vessels scattered around the coast of the UK....quite a few more than the two you mentioned!
>>Always when territorial rights of other nations are affected the whole thing becomes more or less a matter of good will of this nation to declare a war grave and to ensure the status.<<
I think it has also got a lot to do with old shipmates / old comrades associations who pressure and lobby governments to recognise the sacrifices made by crews during conflict. Good will has more to do, in the UK at least, with vote catching. Catch your MP at the right time and they\'ll scream the loudest hoping you\'ll remember that and vote for them! Memories of sacrifice are short in some circles.
>> Regarding this situation the US has shed not much -or no good will at all- to the german war graves in form of the german subs in US-waters.<<
How - more seriously - how would they police it? The USCG have more to do nowadays with drugs than policing wrecks. Also, with scuba equipment easily available and boats cheap to hire you\'ve created a business. Money talks, Oliver.
Sadly, not all people respect those who gave their lives fighting for their beliefs - no matter what flag they fought under.
Aye,
John</HTML>