The Dover Patrol
The memorial on the cliff is in respect of the Dover Patrol.
In late July 1914, with war looming, twelve ‘Tribal’ class destroyers arrived at Dover to join the near obsolete destroyers already at anchor in the harbour, most of them built in the late 1800s. These destroyers formed the nucleus of the fledgling Dover Patrol, which, from its early beginnings as a modest and poorly equipped command, became one of the most important Royal Navy commands of the First World War.
The Dover Patrol assembled an assortment of vessels as well as submarines, seaplanes, aeroplanes and airships. With these resources it performed several duties simultaneously including carrying out anti-submarine patrols; escorting merchantmen, hospital and troop ships; laying sea-mines to name just a few.
There were many heroic actions involving the men and ships of the Dover Patrol.
After the war a fund was set up to erect a memorial to the Dover Patrol. In July 1921 the memorial at Leatercote Point near St Margaret's Bay was unveiled. Similar memorial obelisks stand at Cap Blanc Nez on the French Coast and New York harbour.
The Dover Patrol
The memorial on the cliff is in respect of the Dover Patrol.
In late July 1914, with war looming, twelve ‘Tribal’ class destroyers arrived at Dover to join the near obsolete destroyers already at anchor in the harbour, most of them built in the late 1800s. These destroyers formed the nucleus of the fledgling Dover Patrol, which, from its early beginnings as a modest and poorly equipped command, became one of the most important Royal Navy commands of the First World War.
The Dover Patrol assembled an assortment of vessels as well as submarines, seaplanes, aeroplanes and airships. With these resources it performed several duties simultaneously including carrying out anti-submarine patrols; escorting merchantmen, hospital and troop ships; laying sea-mines to name just a few.
There were many heroic actions involving the men and ships of the Dover Patrol.
After the war a fund was set up to erect a memorial to the Dover Patrol. In July 1921 the memorial at Leatercote Point near St Margaret's Bay was unveiled. Similar memorial obelisks stand at Cap Blanc Nez on the French Coast and New York harbour.