War grave thief convicted

A Defence Policy and Business news article

22 Nov 11
A Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) investigation has resulted in the successful conviction of a diver who removed items from the protected military wreck HMS Duke of Albany.

MDP detectives based at HM Naval Base Clyde began their inquiry after receiving a complaint from Navy Command. It followed a referral by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that a group of divers had visited the First World War wreck and illegally removed items from the war grave.

The detectives used evidence posted on Facebook to help identify suspects and in September 2010 an individual was visited at his home in Leicestershire and interviewed under caution.

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English Heritage news on marine area

The aims of the National Heritage Protection Commissions (NHPC) grant scheme are being changed to align more closely with the National Heritage Protection Plan (NHPP) which sets out how English Heritage will prioritise and deliver heritage protection for the next four years (2011-2015).

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National Heritage Protection Plan; Mooring at York, UNESCO Convention anniversary.

National Heritage Protection Plan

English Heritage is piloting using the Communities of Practice website to share information and ideas and to receive input on the National Heritage Protection Plan.

One element of the NHPP Activities for the Pleistocene and Early Holocene is the development of a new research framework for the Mesolithic period. As the first step in this process there will be an online discussion to share thoughts and ideas about researching, protecting and presenting our Mesolithic heritage. The forum will take place on the Communities of Practice site from 2-5 pm on Tuesday 18 October 2011.

Mooring at York

The opportunity has arisen to lease a mooring within the historic city of York on the River Ouse. The Council wishes to encourage use of the River within the City and diversify the range of attractions for visitors and residents. To this end the City of York Council are making available a mooring at Kings Staith for an historic vessel to be open to the public as an attraction. It is intended that the vessel will remain at the mooring and will not be used for passenger trips along the river. Contact valerie.inwood@york.gov.uk for more info.

UNESCO Convention anniversary

This year is the 10th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage. In order to celebrate this anniversary, an international scientific colloquium on Factors Impacting Underwater Cultural Heritage will be held in Brussels on 13 and 14 December 2011. The colloquium is organised by UNESCO in close collaboration with the Universities of Leuven and Ghent and the Flemisch Heritage Institute. Further details about the colloquium (including a preliminary programme) can be found here.

Deadline for registration is 1 November 2011.