Petition Launched To Rebury Remains Of WW2 Sailors Dug Up By Metal Scavengers

An MP has launched a petition to rebury the remains of Second World War Royal Navy sailors that were disturbed and dumped in a mass grave in Indonesia.

The campaign launched by Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, follows reports last month that remains of British and Dutch sailors, who died during the Battle of the Java Sea, have been dumped in an anonymous mass grave after metal scavengers raided shipwrecks. 

Mr Pollard said: "I want to see the UK Government take urgent action to recover and rebury the remains of the Royal Navy sailors who died on HMS Exeter and HMS Electra.

"It cannot be right that ministers have not acted to recover the remains of those who fell defending our freedom.

"To hear that their remains have been dumped in a mass grave sickens me and will horrify people across the country who rightly hold our nation's war dead in the highest esteem."

The ships that have been dismantled or vanished included HMS Electra, on which 119 men died, HMS Exeter, on which 54 died, and HMS Encounter, which was scuttled to avoid capture by the Japanese.

The wrecks are considered to be war graves are thought to have been illegally salvaged for scrap metal, along with three Dutch vessels and US submarine USS Perch.

They were all sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea in February 1942, when the Japanese defeated a joint British, American, Australian and Dutch fleet.

Before its fateful voyage to the Pacific, HMS Exeter was repaired in Devonport Naval Base in the constituency Mr Pollard represents. 

Mr Pollard is calling for war grave sites to be better monitored to prevent future disturbances taking place.

He is also calling on relatives of those who died on the ships to get in touch. 

He said:

"I am asking for relatives of those who died on HMS Exeter to come forward to help me in my campaign to see these sailors buried properly...

“These wrecks are rightly protected by international law but if it is not being enforced they have no protection and no dignity. I am calling for urgent action so we can ensure those who died get the fitting burial they deserve.

"No fallen British sailor should have their remains dumped in unmarked mass graves in the 21st century. Please sign and share this petition." 

The Marine Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) is supporting Mr Pollard's petition. Jessica Berry from MAST said: 

"MAST welcomes Luke Pollard’s intervention. HMS Exeter was one of the Royal Navy’s most iconic ships of World War Two.

"It is a disgrace that the remains of men who sacrificed their lives for their country have been subjected to such macabre treatment, removed from their last resting place and dumped in shallow graves."