Bermuda has two Remembrance Day services, but only one of them recalls a special link with a regular visitor to Hamilton Harbour during the Second World War.

A small group of naval veterans of the Royal Naval Association gather every Remembrance Day at Albuoy's Point for a special ceremony to commemorate the 'srolein what was considered one of the bravest naval battles fought during the war.was sunk by a German battleship, the on November 5, 1940 in the Atlantic while engaging the superior enemy ship in a heroic, if hopeless fight to give the 37 merchants in the convoy HX-84 a chance to escape.

The armed merchant cruiser was the sole escort and the sacrifice made by the men of the allowed many ships of the convoy to scatter and escape in the night.

Only five ships in the convoy were lost thanks to the heroic efforts of Captain E.S.F Fegen and his men.

Sadly, only 65 survivors were picked up by the Swedish freighter, Stureholm ? which bravely turned back during the night to search for survivors.

There were 190 men were lost, including Captain Fegen who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

The memorial ? a sundial ? was erected just a year after the ship was sunk and is sited close to where the ship tied up during the wartime years.

While many may pass this memorial, very few know the sad, but heroic story of the and her men.

Originally built as a passenger ship to take emigrants to Australia, the 14,000-tonne vessel was taken over by the British Admiralty in 1939 and turned into a merchant marine cruiser.

At this time, the Royal Navy was short of vessels and tried to make up for it by making a few liners into armed merchant cruisers.

Unfortunately for the , armed meant a white merchant marine ensign and seven six-inch guns dating from before the First World War.

But that didn't stop her from making a final stand against the ruthless and obviously outgunned German battleship on that night of November 5.

On that night she was escorting a convoy across the Atlantic on its way from Nova Scotia, Canada to Europe.

Suddenly the convoy came up on the German warship which immediately began firing on the unarmed convoy.

Although the was poorly equipped for battle, it engaged the destroyer in fierce fighting, lighting up the skies in shellfire as her captain used the vessel as a decoy, allowing the other ships in the convoy to scatter to safety.

Just as Lord Nelson in another sea battle many years before, Captain Fegan lost his arm when the bridge was hit, but he kept fighting until another shell ended his life.

Most of the officers were killed in the battle which lasted some 25 minutes and the eventually sank, but not before achieving its aim ? allowing the convoy to escape to safety.

On November 13, 1940, printed an account of events on the and brought the battle into Bermudians homes with tales of valour, glory and bloodshed.

"The shooting was regular and accurate and five shells fell in one group," read one account. "The raider was eight miles away and salvoes probably came from 11-inch guns. She had everything in her favour, clear weather and calm seas. As soon as the enemy ship was spotted, orders were given for the convoy to scatter and thechased the raider with her own guns blazing."

It was an incredibly brave act because all of the shots fell short of the mark, but she kept the warship at bay as the other ships in the convoy fled.

This battle was considered by many historians to be one of the greatest naval actions of the war.

Captain Fegan, who even before he lost his life in this final battle, was awarded many other decorations for saving lives at sea ? a man true to his calling to the very end.