Chatham Naval War Memorial
After the First World War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent memorial could be provided. An Admiralty committee recommended that the three manning naval ports in Great Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth - should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. The memorials were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, who had already carried out a considerable amount of work for the Commission, with sculpture by Henry Poole. The Chatham Naval Memorial was unveiled by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) on 26 April 1924. After the Second World War it was decided that the naval memorials should be extended to provide space for commemorating the naval dead without graves of that war, but since the three sites were dissimilar, a different architectural treatment was required for each. The architect for the Second World War extension at Chatham was Sir Edward Maufe (who also designed the Air Forces memorial at Runnymede) and the additional sculpture was by Charles Wheeler and William McMillan. The Extension was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 October 1952. Chatham Naval Memorial commemorates 8,517 sailors of the First World War and 10,098 of the Second World War who were registered at Chatham (the Plymouth and Portsmouth Memorials record another 23,192 and 24,586 sailors respectively, registered at the port each memorial was built at).
The memorial consists of a one hundred foot high obelisk of portland stone with four carved lions at the base and, at the top, four large figures representing the four winds. Around the foot of the obelisk are thirty-two panels of sailors' names who died in the First World War. Surrounding the obelisk on three sides is a wall which carries the names of Second World War victims. The memorial overlooks Chatham and like the other two was sited so that it could be used as a landmark by shipping.
As a result of constant vandalism at the Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has had to arrange for it to be regularly patrolled and public access limited to the period from 08.30 to 17.00. Should for any reason the Memorial be closed during the stated hours, please telephone the Guard Room at Brompton Barracks on 01634 822442 who will arrange for the gates to be opened. Any inconvenience to visitors is greatly regretted.
It is sad to report that Chatham is the only one of the three naval Memorials that has this limited access, a poor reflection on what (I hope is) a small minority of the locals.
Chatham Naval War Memorial
After the First World War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent memorial could be provided. An Admiralty committee recommended that the three manning naval ports in Great Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth - should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. The memorials were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, who had already carried out a considerable amount of work for the Commission, with sculpture by Henry Poole. The Chatham Naval Memorial was unveiled by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) on 26 April 1924. After the Second World War it was decided that the naval memorials should be extended to provide space for commemorating the naval dead without graves of that war, but since the three sites were dissimilar, a different architectural treatment was required for each. The architect for the Second World War extension at Chatham was Sir Edward Maufe (who also designed the Air Forces memorial at Runnymede) and the additional sculpture was by Charles Wheeler and William McMillan. The Extension was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 October 1952. Chatham Naval Memorial commemorates 8,517 sailors of the First World War and 10,098 of the Second World War who were registered at Chatham (the Plymouth and Portsmouth Memorials record another 23,192 and 24,586 sailors respectively, registered at the port each memorial was built at).
The memorial consists of a one hundred foot high obelisk of portland stone with four carved lions at the base and, at the top, four large figures representing the four winds. Around the foot of the obelisk are thirty-two panels of sailors' names who died in the First World War. Surrounding the obelisk on three sides is a wall which carries the names of Second World War victims. The memorial overlooks Chatham and like the other two was sited so that it could be used as a landmark by shipping.
As a result of constant vandalism at the Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has had to arrange for it to be regularly patrolled and public access limited to the period from 08.30 to 17.00. Should for any reason the Memorial be closed during the stated hours, please telephone the Guard Room at Brompton Barracks on 01634 822442 who will arrange for the gates to be opened. Any inconvenience to visitors is greatly regretted.
It is sad to report that Chatham is the only one of the three naval Memorials that has this limited access, a poor reflection on what (I hope is) a small minority of the locals.