War grave verdict
A SHIPWRECK off the coast of Hastings will be declared a war grave in memory of a naval gunner, to the delight of his daughters.
Petty Officer James Varndell was one of 21 men killed when the SS Storra, a merchant navy ship, was torpedoed during the Second World War.
At the High Court this week, Rosemary Fogg and sister Valerie Ledgard, who last saw their dad in 1943, argued their father was on 'active military service' when his ship was sunk by Germans in November that year.
PO Varndell was 44 at the time.
Presiding judge Mr Justice Newman heard that because the SS Storaa was armed and being protected by HMS Whitshead, and PO Varndell was a member of the Royal Navy, the wreck should be preserved under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
The sisters' judicial review challenge was fought by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and John Short, who was sold the diving rights to the SS Storaa in 1985 and is a member of the Hastings Sub Aqua Association.
Mr Justice Newman, who found in favour of the sisters, said: "The Storaa was obliged to travel into one of the most dangerous sea passages off the coast of England to face the known risk of being attacked by the enemy. If threatened with attack, by reason of being armed, it was required to engage in combat with the enemy for its own protection and for the benefit of the convoy."
Last year the MOD declined to declare the wreck of the Storaa a war grave.
Rosemary Fogg and Valerie Ledgard said they were delighted with the ruling - but added their father would probably have taken the decision in his stride.
"It's been a very long fight but the law does take a long time and we have got there in the end," said Mrs Ledgard.
"Our father was a fairly withdrawn man who would have found it amazing that we could come to the High Court all these years later and have the Storaa declared a war grave.
"He was a very loyal man and a very brave man who thought nothing of doing his duty."
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Weather for Hastings
Monday 28 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
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