War grave plate appears on Internet auction site

A dinner plate allegedly salvaged from the wreckage of the sunken battleship HMS Royal Oak was up for sale on an internet auction this week.

Being a war grave to the 833 men who died in Scapa Flow after she was sunk in 1939 by a German torpedo, no items are supposed to be removed from the wreck.

However on the trading website, eBay, the anonymous seller claimed that he acquired the china plate from a friend who had dived on the Royal Oak and removed several items.

Royal Navy spokesman Mr Steve Willmott said that not even Navy divers are allowed to interfere with artefacts on board the vessel, and he questioned the authenticity of the item.

The amount of truth in the claim was further questioned when The Orcadian tried to contact the seller on Monday, asking for details as to when it was recovered and by whom. The next day bidding was closed and the item was removed from the website.