UK investigates WW2 shipwreck looting claims.

[Chris Allman]

Well, well, the Government has finally decided to do something HERE - too late as wrecks have been removed already including HMS Exeter. See my post in April of this year HERE - lost for words really.

[Chris Allman]

I was so incensed with the desecration of the WW 2 wrecks of HMS's Exeter, Repulse and Prince of Wales etc that I E Mailed the Secretary of State for Defence on the 19th August, I finally got a reply today. I will leave you all to form your own opinions.

Dear Mr Allman,

Thank you for your email of 19 August to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding the salvaging of WWII ships sunk in the battle of the Java Sea. Your correspondence has been forwarded to Navy Command and I have been asked to respond.

Firstly, I would like to reassure you that the Government of the United Kingdom places a great deal of cultural and emotional significance on our warship wreck sites and strongly condemns the desecration of any such site. This is an issue that we treat with the utmost gravity.

The Ministry of Defence is aware that some of the Java Sea wrecks, including HMS EXETER, have been substantially salvaged. Officials in our Embassy in Jakarta have worked closely with our Dutch counterparts to raise our concerns about these salvage operations with the relevant Indonesian authorities. Indeed, Government Officials are currently working with the Indonesian Government to agree protected status for the British WWII wrecks in the Indonesian waters.

I hope that you will understand that there are a large number of Royal Navy wrecks around the world and that there are, therefore, limitations as to enforcing protection. However, where we do have definitive evidence of desecration of sites, the UK Government will respond, as they have done in this case.

I hope this explains the situation.

Yours sincerely,



Emily Austin-Williams

[Captain Kong]

In other words Chris, "Forget it".
Brian

[Chris Allman]

I love the words " substantially salvaged " the whole bl**dy wreck has gone !!!!!

I have replied as such :-

Thank you for reply Emily.

Please could you tell me if anything is being done with reference to the reports of human remains from the wrecks being deposited on local rubbish dumps.

Kind regards

C. Allman.


This was also the subject of my previous E Mail and which appears to have been avoided.

[happy daze john in oz]

Chris, this is not the first time such has occurred in and around the waters of Indonesia.

Sadly there ae groups of locals who will go to any lengths to get what they can from such wrecks.

I have been in Bali markets and seen artifacts that can be clearly seen as salvaged form wrecks, but worse still there are those who will buy them.