Museum chiefs battling for sunken WW2 British warships memorial

Museum chiefs are reportedly battling with the government over plans for a memorial for the sailors who lost their lives in one of Britain's worst naval disasters of the Second World War.

Professor Dominic Tweddle, the head of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, told the Mail on Sunday, that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Foreign Office had blocked his plans to commemorate the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse by the Japanese in 1941.

The Mail reported that Prof Tweddle wanted to bring up artefacts from the shipwrecks in the Pacific to create a memorial in Portsmouth but said he was "somewhat disappointed with the response that the MOD wants it to stay in Malaysia for some unknown reason."

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Earlier this year, it emerged that the Prince of Wales had been targeted by Chinese pirates who had looted material from the ship.

In May, Malaysia detained a Chinese-registered vessel, which was suspected of shipwreck looting.

Ammunition believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse was found on board after it had anchored illegally at the site in the South China Sea.

Authorities in Malaysia have since recovered much of the stolen objects, Prof Tweddle wants to bring them back to Britain.

MOD Response

An MOD Spokesperson said: "We are working closely with appropriate authorities and partners to ensure the future preservation of the recovered artefacts.

"We consider these sunken British warships to be the final resting place of our servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and have engaged with the local and regional authorities to ensure that our position is understood."