KUANTAN: The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today graced the unveiling of a Memorial to two British warships HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales in Teluk Cempedak, here.
The event, which was held on the 82nd anniversary of the sinking of the ships was also graced by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Also attending the event were British High Commissioner to Malaysia Ailsa Terry CMG, the granddaughter of HMS Prince of Wales’s captain Henrietta Wood (nee Leach), Pahang state representatives, Malaysian Armed Forces senior officers and foreign dignitaries.
The memorial also consists of an auxiliary anchor, believed to be from one of the ships, which was gifted to Malaysia by the United Kingdom, and displayed at the Army Museum in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan before.
HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales were part of British naval squadron Force Z, which was tasked with intercepting a Japanese invasion fleet during the Second World War (WWII).
However, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, which were sailing without air escort, sank 61 nautical miles off the coast of Kuantan on Dec 10 1941, after intense air raids by Japanese bombers and torpedo aircraft.
Wood, 64, in her speech said her grandfather Captain John Leach was among 840 men whose grave is in the deep waters of the South China Sea, consisting of 513 from HMS Repulse while the others were from HMS Prince of Wales.
“I hope the memorial unveiled this morning is not just a grateful remembrance of the 840 men but also a reminder to us to learn the lessons of history and look to a future of trust, understanding and respect between nations.
“The current terrible conflicts just cry out for humanity. This memorial is not only a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made in war but also is a symbol of the bond between our countries and, I hope, will serve as an encouragement to others to accept their differences and work peacefully together,“ she said.
Wood also thanked the efforts of building the memorial to ‘those brave men, who are unstinting in their duty and service’, adding that she will certainly return in the future to visit the memorial.
In her moving heartfelt speech, Wood shared that her father Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Leach, who had recently celebrated his 18th birthday in December 1941, saw his father for the last time hours before the Force Z sailed.
During that time, Henry Leach was a midshipman based in Singapore as a temporary plotter in the war room while waiting to rejoin his ship HMS Mauritius.
“On the evening of 10th December, after the sinking of the two warships, my father headed for the quayside in Singapore to try to get news of his father. After much frustration and increasing despair he went back to the wardroom where he was gently informed of his father’s death by an exhausted first lieutenant of Prince of Wales who had miraculously survived the ordeal.
“The loss of his father at such a young age and in such devastating circumstances I believe contributed to his determination to do his absolute best in the Royal Navy and he dedicated his life to the senior service. He would have wanted his father to have been proud of him,“ she said.
Meanwhile, Terry in a release to the media said the memorial will provide an opportunity for visitors to reflect on the enormity of the loss and the cost of war.
“It is a fitting tribute to the personnel who perished along with the ships, and also serves as a reminder that important naval heritage like this must be protected as well as of the strength of the UK-Malaysia relationship,“ she said. -Bernama
