Petition Protect HMS Victory (1744) and the remains of 1000 British soldiers from US commercial exploitation

HMS Victory that foundered off the Channel Islands in 1744 with the loss of around 1000 lives should be protected as a military grave and from commercial expoitation.

There are reports that a US company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, is to be granted permission to salvage HMS Victory (1744) with an estimated £500 million worth of gold onboard.

HMS Victory is also the grave of around 1000 British soldiers and should be afforded the same protection as other military graves by the British Government. Expoitation by foreign companies must not be put above the sanctity of British graves irrespective of the historic importance of the wreck and commercial value of the cargo.

It is scandalous that the British Government should allow this desecration of British graves. British lives from whatever period in our history are of greater value than any cargo or museum artefact.