Buckie's navigation light will be replaced using a helicopter
Marc Macrae, who chairs Moray Council's economic development and infrastructure services committee, said: "This replacement is vital to ensuring the safety of vessels navigating our coastline."We're pleased to invest in this modern, durable upgrade at a time we're looking at the potential for growth in and around Buckie harbour."
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Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘The Japanese dropped a bomb right behind me – this is how I survived'
A 105-year-old navy veteran has told the Duchess of Edinburgh how he survived the Japanese bombing of HMS Repulse after a bomb dropped on the deck directly behind him. Jim Wren sat down for a cup of tea and cake with the Duchess at his care home in Salisbury, where he recalled extraordinary stories of survival ahead of the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Friday. Both HMS Prince of Wales, then Britain's newest and most powerful battleship, and her consort, the battlecruiser Repulse, were sunk off the east coast of Malaysia by Japanese naval planes on December 10 1941, three days after the attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. It was the Royal Navy's greatest single defeat of the Second World War. Mr Wren, who was later captured and held as a prisoner of war for more than three years, has joined calls for the anchor of the Prince of Wales to be returned to the UK and installed at the memorial to those who died at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, unveiled in 2011. Mr Wren told the Duchess of the moment they came under attack: 'It was around 11 o'clock in the morning. I was having a cup of tea on the mess deck and the alarm was raised. 'I dropped my cup and as I left the mess deck, the first bomb dropped right behind me. 'Fortunately, it didn't explode – I was able to go down two or three decks before it exploded. That saved my life.' He added: 'From then onwards it was a case of actions, actions, and it was torpedo after torpedo and they eventually got nine hits.' Mr Wren sat with the other young reserve gun crew for more than an hour listening to the roar of battle before emerging into chaos. He has previously told The Telegraph how he then stripped off his heavier clothing, climbed over the side, crawled over the bilges and into the water. 'There was no time to freeze with fear,' he said. 'It was do or die.' The two ships shot down just three of 85 Japanese aircraft before succumbing. Of the 1,612 aboard the Prince of Wales, 327 died, while on Repulse, 513 from a complement of 1,309 perished. Asked by the Duchess, who is patron of the Java Far East Prisoner of War Club 1942, if his family knew he had survived, Mr Wren said: 'It was right until the end of the war until they knew I was alive. So they suffered all this time.' The veteran described how he was later captured by Japanese soldiers alongside a group of civilians as they attempted to flee Singapore by boat. 'It must have been awful, because you were surrounded by women and children,' the Duchess said. Mr Wren nodded. 'We didn't know [where] our next meal was coming from, or [where] our next drink was coming from...' he explained. 'They had no idea how to deal with prisoners of war, the Japanese – no idea.' Mr Wren was kept as a prisoner in Sumatra before being released in August 1945, after Japan surrendered. There was laughter when the Duchess asked him what had attracted him to the Navy. 'Nothing attracted me to the Navy – I didn't want to be in the Navy,' he admitted. Mr Wren applied to join the RAF and the Army when he was 19, but was turned down. He then joined the Navy after his uncle, a retired Royal Marine, was recalled up on reserve. The wrecks of both the Prince of Wales and Repulse have been designated as official war graves but that has not stopped them from being preyed upon by salvage merchants. Campaigners and relations of those who died aboard HMS Repulse have long called for parts of the warship to be recovered to serve as a memorial before scrap metal scavengers further desecrate the last resting place of her crew. The bronze propellers disappeared between September 2012 and May 2013, followed by components made of other ferrous metals and blocks of steel and aluminium. Campaign for return of artefects to UK In April 2023, the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (Mast) tracked a Chinese purpose-built salvage barge that had looted the Prince of Wales wreckage to a breakers' yard on the south coast of Malaysia. There, two of the ship's anchors, alongside other artefacts, are still being held. One of the anchors remains in good condition and the organisation is campaigning for it to be returned to the UK where it can be conserved and then installed at the national memorial. But Jessica Berry, founder and chief executive of Mast, said the Malaysians were keen to keep it for themselves, having built a new structure 'where they think it will look very nice.' She added: 'Our aim is the anchor to be conserved and installed at the National Memorial Arboretum as a fitting memorial to those who died, as per Jim Wren's wishes.' Mr Wren said: 'We would like the anchor to go to the memorial at the National Arboretum.' The war veteran became emotional as he spoke about the 80th anniversary of VJ Day commemorations. 'When we got back, the government didn't want to know and told us not to talk about it,' he said. On Friday, the King will deliver an audio address to the nation to mark the historic anniversary VJ Day before joining the Queen at a Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum.
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Future unclear for Coventry splash park shut by mechanical fault
A sign on the railings at a popular water play area has claimed it will be permanently closed but its future in fact remains and Play in Coventry's War Memorial Park closed more than a year ago due to a fault in the pump City Council previously said the feature, which was installed in 2004, would reopen in time for the school summer the wording of the sign, the authority said the attraction was only closed for the "foreseeable" and it was exploring options for it future, reiterating no decision had yet been taken. A spokesperson added: "In the meantime, there is still lots of fun for families to enjoy at our wonderful park."A woman at the park, who has two children axed six and nine, told BBC CWR the feature hadn't been open properly in the past so its closure hadn't made "much difference"."They were opening it the odd half an hour here and there... and it was never really publicised when it would be open and when it wouldn't be," she woman added: "It's just a shame for the children really isn't it, especially on a nice warm day like today." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Sunderland's Roker Pier reopens after near two-year closure
A pier damaged by Storm Babet in 2023 has reopened to the public, who were treated to the sight of dolphins Roker Pier has been closed for nearly two years after it suffered "significant structural damage".Part of the path on the Grade II listed structure had broken off and 300ft (91m) of railings were washed away during the October City Council said the pier was safe to use again after repairs - costing about £236,000 and carried out over four months - were completed. Councillor Kevin Johnston, cabinet member for housing, regeneration and business, said the pier was one of the city's "prize assets" and repair works were a "complex marine civil engineering job".He said work, which began in April, could only have realistically been completed outside of the winter months. "We don't know in the future how severe storms will be but we're confident that the works can stand the test of time," he said."We are all very proud of our pier and this has all been another chapter in its long history." Planning approval for the repair programme was granted in included replacing corroded and missing steel components, repairing concrete and fixing the decking, railings and support structures. New life buoys and safety signage have also been pier was first opened to the public in 1903 after taking 18 years to build and has been a popular spot for visitors and tourists over the Moorhead, 41, from Washington, visited the pier for the first time during its reopening, despite living on Wearside. "I've lived in Washington for 37 years but this is my first time ever on Roker Pier and it won't be my last. What a day it's been," she said. "The dolphins came up to the pier, it was almost like they knew about it reopening, it was such a special feeling."North East-based Southbay Civil Engineering Limited was contracted for the pier's repairs, having previously worked on deck slab replacement works there in Johnston added: "Looking at the repairs, I think one of the most striking aspects is probably the new concrete decking on the pier head."He also confirmed the pier's tunnel tours would make a access to the pier will continue to be restricted in adverse weather conditions in the interests of public safety, the council confirmed. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
