Curator Dr Alan Scarth and Ellie Moffat
In May, 1941, she played a role in the sinking of the Bismarck off Iceland. Shells from the Prince of Wales damaged the Bismarck’s fuel tanks, causing an oil slick which led to the German warship being hunted down and sunk.
She later carried Winston Churchill to the US for crucial talks with US President Franklin D Roosevelt.
Finally, in winter, she was sent with veteran battle cruiser HMS Repulse into the Indian Ocean to discourage Japanese aggression. They were attacked and sunk by Japanese aircraft. Some 327 men were lost on the Prince of Wales, and 513 on the Repulse.
Yesterday, memorial services were held at St Nicholas Church in the city centre and Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton.
