Jutland veteran must be 'protected at all costs'

THE last survivor of the greatest naval battle ever fought in European waters will be saved – but there’s a multi-million-pound battle ahead to restore HMS Caroline.

The Great War cruiser – the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland and the only major warship left from the Grand Fleet, the greatest armada Britain ever possessed – will be taken over by the National Museum of the Royal Navy now she is no longer needed by the Royal Naval Reserve.

For nearly 90 years the warship has served as the base for part-time sailors in Belfast, but they have now moved ashore to HMS Hibernia, part of the Army’s Thiepval barracks in Lisburn.

The White Ensign was lowered for the last time on Caroline on March 31 and formally presented to City of Belfast; it will be laid up alongside other military standards in St Anne’s Cathedral.

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