Accomplished Eastern Beach artist Merv Appleton has created an oil painting depicting the HMS Neptune warship which formed part of the UK’s Royal Navy during World War II. The ship’s sinking off the coast of North Africa on December 19, 1941, is New Zealand’s worst naval tragedy, according to the Royal NZ Navy’s Museum. A Royal Navy cruiser, the HMS Neptune struck four enemy mines and sank off Libya, claiming the lives of 764 men, with 150 New Zealanders among them. Appleton’s wife Colleen is a direct descendant of one of the sailors who died when the ship sank. Her uncle Norman Cook, then aged 23, was a member of the Royal NZ Naval Volunteer Reserve.

Source: The Times December 09, 2021 02:17 UTC