HMS Somerset marks loss of Dunkirk evacuation warship HMS Wakeful in deck ceremony
The crew of HMS Somerset have commemorated the "721 souls lost" on HMS Wakeful, a W-Class destroyer that was sunk during the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War.
The sailors held a ceremony as the Type 23 frigate sailed over the site of Wakeful's wreck.
A post on HMS Somerset's X showed sailors on deck, one holding a wreath and a flag waving in the wind.
The post said: "It was with great honour and solemnity that #HMSSOMERSET remembered the tragic loss of HMS WAKEFUL as she passed over the site of her wreck.
"Sunk on 29 May 1940 with 721 souls lost."
HMS Wakeful played her part in Operation Dynamo, the mission to clear troops from Dunkirk, which ran from 26 May to 4 June 1940.
The destroyer, which was carrying 640 Allied troops rescued from Bray Dunes, was not able to fight due to overloading, the grandson of the ship's chief stoker said.
The warship was torpedoed by the German E-Boat S-30 on 29 May 1940 after evading German aircraft.
The ship was hit by two torpedoes, with one striking the forward boiler room.
Following the attack, four Allied troops and 25 of the vessel's crew survived. However, the number that survived is disputed, with some sources saying only one Allied soldier lived, while others suggest a higher figure.
Several boats later saved the stranded personnel, but one was itself destroyed by a U-boat.
Wakeful first served during World War I when she joined the Grand Fleet. She was at Scapa Flow when the German High Sea Fleet surrendered in late 1918.
The month before the Second World War began, she was reactivated and was placed on duty escorting convoys.
HMS Wakeful's wreck is now a designated war grave near Zeebrugge harbour in Belgium.
The National Museum of the Royal Navy currently holds the vessel's crest and foot plate.
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