![Saffron Walden Reporter: Mayor Cllr Heather Asker and her partner Peter Garrett after the wreath laying ceremony]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Mayor Cllr Heather Asker and her partner Peter Garrett after the wreath laying ceremony")
Mayor Cllr Heather Asker and her partner Peter Garrett after the wreath laying ceremony (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
Mayor Heather Asker and Deputy Mayor Richard Porch commemorated the loss of sunk warship Lapwing, together with their partners.
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Deputy Mayor Cllr Richard Porch and his wife Michelle, after the wreath laying ceremony]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Deputy Mayor Cllr Richard Porch and his wife Michelle, after the wreath laying ceremony")
Deputy Mayor Cllr Richard Porch and his wife Michelle, after the wreath laying ceremony (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
Bob Curran of the Royal British Legion led the short ceremony at the HMS Lapwing memorial at The Close Garden, High Street.
The ship had the coat of arms of Saffron Walden. It had a crew of 219 on March 11, 1945, when it left for the Kola Islet, Murmansk, Russia.
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Cllr Heather Asker, Mayor of Saffron Walden, with the Town Council wreath]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Cllr Heather Asker, Mayor of Saffron Walden, with the Town Council wreath")
Cllr Heather Asker, Mayor of Saffron Walden, with the Town Council wreath (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Cllr Heather Asker, Mayor of Saffron Walden, lays the Town Council wreath at the HMS Lapwing memorial]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Cllr Heather Asker, Mayor of Saffron Walden, lays the Town Council wreath at the HMS Lapwing memorial")
Cllr Heather Asker, Mayor of Saffron Walden, lays the Town Council wreath at the HMS Lapwing memorial (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
On March 20, just two miles from its destination, the ship was hit by a torpedo fired by a German submarine. The ship sank within 12 minutes, and 158 lost their lives, and several others who were pulled from the water subsequently died.
A plaque in the shape of a shield with the crest of Lapwing was hung in the Town Hall where it can still be seen today.
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Deputy Mayor, Cllr Richard Porch with the HMS Lapwing Association wreath]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Deputy Mayor, Cllr Richard Porch with the HMS Lapwing Association wreath")
Deputy Mayor, Cllr Richard Porch with the HMS Lapwing Association wreath (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Deputy Mayor, Cllr Richard Porch lays the HMS Lapwing Association wreath at the memorial]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Deputy Mayor, Cllr Richard Porch lays the HMS Lapwing Association wreath at the memorial")
Deputy Mayor, Cllr Richard Porch lays the HMS Lapwing Association wreath at the memorial (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Bob Curran with the Royal British Legion wreath]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Bob Curran with the Royal British Legion wreath")
Bob Curran with the Royal British Legion wreath (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
![Saffron Walden Reporter: Bob Curran lays the Royal British Legion wreath at the HMS Lapwing Memorial]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: Bob Curran lays the Royal British Legion wreath at the HMS Lapwing Memorial")
Bob Curran lays the Royal British Legion wreath at the HMS Lapwing Memorial (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
![Saffron Walden Reporter: A short ceremony was attended by representatives of the Town Council and the Royal British Legion, to lay wreaths at the HMS Lapwing Memorial]( "Saffron Walden Reporter: A short ceremony was attended by representatives of the Town Council and the Royal British Legion, to lay wreaths at the HMS Lapwing Memorial")
A short ceremony was attended by representatives of the Town Council and the Royal British Legion, to lay wreaths at the HMS Lapwing Memorial (Image: Copyright © 2021 Celia Bartlett Photography. All rights reserved)
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