Divers warned to treat to war grave with respect
- On 08/11/2009
- In World War Wrecks
- 0 comments
From Kent News
Divers are being warned to treat a wrecked ship where 75 crewmen died with utmost respect, especially as it is an official war grave.
What’s left of HMS Ghurka lays on the sea bed off Dungeness. It sank on February 8, 1917, after hitting a mine laid by a German U-boat.
But it has been subjected to repeated dives, with items being taken and sold to secondhand stores and souvenir shops as nick-nacks.
One magazine has even gone so far as listing it at number 76 in its Top 100 Best Wreck Dives.
Divernet refused to talk to Kent on Sunday, but it did say on its website: “Divers should remember that the heavy loss of life makes this a war grave.”
And holiday-diver.com also warns divers to stay out of the wreck, saying: “Divers will no longer be allowed to penetrate” the Ghurka.
In fact last year the Ministry of Defense finally agreed with campaigners like Christopher Conn, of Folkestone.
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