SS Storaa recognised as war grave

We represented the claimants in challenging the failure of the Ministry of Defence to designate the wreck of a merchant vessel which had been sunk by E-boats in World War II as a war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. We won and successfully resisted an appeal by the government.

The claimants Rosemary Fogg and Valerie Ledgard were daughters of Petty Officer James Varndell RN who was serving on the SS Storaa, a merchant vessel which was sailing in a convoy when it was sunk off Hastings by German E-boats on 3rd November 1943. The Storaa was armed, with PO Varndell serving as a gunner. He died in the attack. The convoy was en route from Southend to Bristol and Cardiff.

Designation of the wreck would entail protective obligations for the Ministry of Defence, including that it could not be salvaged and sold for scrap. John Short was an interested party in the proceedings who had bought the wreck, potentially enabling salvage and in any event unrestricted diving with the potential to disturb the wreck.

The Ministry resisted the claim on the basis that the Storaa was a civilian vessel and not in military service. That was so, it was argued, even though it was in a convoy, it was armed, and it was carrying military equipment.

As the Judge put it:

The case raises a number of important and sensitive issues having consequences which are not limited to the interests of the claimants. The remains of the deceased merchant seamen are, if the Secretary of State is right, not eligible for protection. The Merchant Navy, including many individuals who saw active service in convoys, feel strongly that the role played by the service in the midst of armed conflict in the second world war has never been properly recognised. The facts of this case demonstrate that uncertainty exists as to whether the remains of those who died, going down with their vessel, when participating in armed conflict with the enemy in time of war will qualify for protection.

The case was closely followed by Merchant Navy veterans who gave evidence about the convoy systems, including that they were controlled by the Admiralty.

The Court had little difficulty in concluding that the Storaa was in military service. Following an unsuccessful appeal by the MoD, the wreck was designated under the Act.