Members of the HMS Lapwing Association, The Royal British Legion, the Mayor & Saffron Walden Town Councillors gathered at Close Garden on Saturday, 22 March to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Lapwing with the loss of 158 lives and the 61 men who survived.
The town is linked to the ship as in December 1941, Saffron Walden Borough and Rural Councils decided to band together to raise £120,000 to adopt a ship. Through a tremendous fund-raising effort, the town succeeded and was allocated HMS Lapwing in June 1942, whereupon townsfolk began knitting essentials for the crew, exchanging letters and hanging the Lapwing crest in the Town Hall, where it remains to this day.
Richard Leitch, Chairman of the HMS Lapwing Association said “Since 2005 Saffron Walden has been generous and thoughtful in holding Memorial Services to remember the tragic loss of HMS Lapwing with so many young sailors and officers. Inevitably over time the number of next of kin has dropped from over thirty to single figures however that should never prevent Saffron Walden and our Association remembering those we lost, both in March 1945 and subsequently. We are delighted that a room in the Town Hall is now named HMS Lapwing, which will be an everlasting reminder of her. The Friends of HMS Lapwing Association will forever be in debt to Saffron Walden for their consideration to those we loved but lost”.
