12 Oct SHARING JUTLAND FAMILY HISTORIES AT THE LYENESS CEMETARY ON THE BBC
Gravestone for the crew of HMS Malaya fallen at Jutland
Last Tuesday, I was given a very personal tour of the Lyness Cemetery in the Orkneys by head groundsman for the Commonwealth Graves Commission, Graham Hobbs. He and I share a bond that stretches over the last hundred years.
Like my own, his grandfather was also at Jutland. He was a boy signaller, aged just fourteen, on HMS King George V, the leading battleship in the line of battle after the deployment. I think that both of us wish we had asked more questions and heard more of their personal stories, even if it would always be one generation removed.
The day left a very strong impression on me. We ended by looking at the graves of the last German servicemen killed in the First World War. They were sailors trying to get ashore after scuttling their destroyer.
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