The anchor was lost in Portland Harbour in 1980 when HMS Ardent was taking shelter from a storm. After the news that HMS Ardent had been sunk, the Queen’s Harbour Master at Portland, a former First Lieutenant of HMS Ardent, Commander Nick Crewes RN (Retired) initiated a successful search for the anchor. After its recovery it was offered to the HMS Ardent Association who decided that it should become a permanent memorial to those who were lost with the ship and was originally located at the China Fleet Club near Saltash in Cornwall. It was decided to relocate the anchor to the National Memorial Arboretum in order to allow greater access to this important memorial by survivors of the ship, family members of the Association, and the public in general.