Bell of the 'Von Der Taan'

The Von Der Tann and the Derfflinger were the two battlecruisers that shelled Scarborough on December 16th 1914. At the end of the war they were interned with the rest of the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney. Fearing the German fleet would be divided among allied forces, German Commander Admiral Ludwig Von Reuter ordered the ships to be scuttled immediately before the deadline for Germany to sign the Versailles peace treaty. Von Der Tann and Derfflinger were raised for scrap in 1930 and 1939 respectively.
Following the salvage, the bell of the Van Der Tann was presented to the German Federal Navy and is located in Laboe, Germany. It is currently on loan along with the bell of the Derfflinger to Scarborough Art Gallery. This bell is a secondary bell and has travelled from Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides where it hangs outside St. Michael’s parish church.