Quercus robur the oak tree at Boscobel House, where the future King Charles II hid from his Parliamentarian pursuers in 1650 during the English Civil War; the tree has since been known as the Royal Oak. This event was celebrated nationally on 29 May as Oak Apple Day, which is continued to this day in some communities. ‘The Royal Oak’ is the third most popular pub name in Britain (541 in 2007) and has been the name of eight major Royal Navy warships. The naval associations are strengthened by the fact that oak was the main construction material for sailing warships. The
HMS Royal Oak (08) who survived the sinking while serving as a Boy, First Class on "Royal Oak", served as the Royal Oak Association's Honorary Secretary. An annual ceremony of remembrance is held by the survivors and descendants of the crew at the Naval War Memorial, Southsea, on the anniversary of the sinking. The last remaining survivor of "Royal Oak", Arthur Smith, who had been a 17-year old Boy, First Class when the ship was struck, died on 11 December 2016. He had been on watch at the bridge and had jumped from the sinking ship, swimming in the wrong direction until he was