Scapa Flow - Salvaging the Imperial German Navy

The story behind the Royal Navy's Dreadnought battleship of 1906 and the naval arms race that led to the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In June 1919 seventy-four interned German warships were scuttled by their crews at Scapa Flow in Orkney, and in 1924 Ernest Cox with no salvage experience took on the largest maritime salvage operation in history and raised thirty-two warships in seven years.

Kevin grew up in Kenya, and after a spell in the RAF became a commercial salvage diver in the Middle East. With an interest in East African military and transport history, he has authored several books including an acclaimed study of the German cruiser ‘Königsberg’ sunk in East Africa in 1915, plus numerous articles for journals and magazines. Kevin has also been a speaker for over thirty years. As part of his interest in military history Kevin was involved in the restoration of British forces graves in Bahrain, and the recovery at sea of a propeller from a crashed Air France airliner as a memorial to those killed and was honoured by the French government.

The December meeting includes our annual Christmas social with finger buffet and refreshments. Members and non-members of The Western Front Association are equally welcome. Any new visitors are guaranteed a friendly atmosphere and a warm welcome from a group of like-minded enthusiasts.

Doors open at Cobham at 7:15pm and the meeting starts at 7:45pm. We ask for a modest £5 donation on the door, and this includes tea, coffee and biscuits at the break, plus free tickets for the book raffle. Attendees can use our cashless card system and use their credit card/phone with the reader that will be available at the signing-in desk.

To help make things easier and safer, we are asking those coming to Cobham to bring their own mug for coffee or tea.