Portsmouth Naval Memorial rededication ceremony - 100th year anniversary - video Dailymotion

The News, Portsmouth

Thousands of Royal Navy personnel who lost their lives during both world wars are named and pictured on the memorial.

Transcript

00:30I don't know if you can see it, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

00:37It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

00:44It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

00:51It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

00:58It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:03It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:08It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:13It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:18It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:23It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:28It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:33It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:38It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:43It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:48It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:53It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

01:58It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:03It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:08It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:13It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:18It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:23It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:28It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:33It's really hard to see, but there's a lot of snow in this area.

02:39...as the great memorials erected at the end of the First World War

02:44come to that classic period in their lives.

02:48And they mark the thousands of men and women who were missing

02:52or who had no known grave, which couldn't have been marked by their families.

02:57And they are now reaching the milestone of 100 years since that period.

03:02The general public are often drawn to the vast battlefields of France and Belgium,

03:07where hundreds of thousands of men remain missing to this day.

03:11The grand memorials at Menin Gate and at Tiefel pay their tribute.

03:17What immediately or does not immediately spring to mind in the general public

03:22are the 45,000 men and women from homes across the country

03:27who died while serving with the Royal Navy during the First World War.

03:32The majority of them were lost at sea and have no graves for their families to mourn.

03:39They're known only to God.

03:42Just as in France and in Belgium, a fitting way to commemorate their sacrifice was needed.

03:50When someone joined the Navy, they were allocated to a particular manning port

03:55for administrative purposes, the paperwork, today's HR, as we would understand it.

04:00And at the end of the war, the Admiralty and the Imperial War Graves Commission,

04:05as it was at that time, decided that the three great manning ports

04:10of Portsmouth, of Chatham and of Plymouth should each have an identical memorial

04:16to bear the names of their naval personnel with no grave but the sea.

04:23The Commission built these unmistakable obelisks designed by Sir Robert Lorimer,

04:29which would be seen by all vessels using these ports,

04:33keeping the fallen in daily view, whether it's at sea or on land.

04:39Sadly, only 15 years after this was unveiled in 1924,

04:45the Navy, a country, was called to fight another global war.

04:50Hundreds of thousands of men and women joined up,

04:53and another 60,000 naval personnel died in service between 1939 and 1945.

05:02The existing memorials, including this one, were extended

05:06to accommodate the names of the Second World War dead.

05:10And today, this memorial behind us commemorates 25,000 naval personnel

05:17who died, more than 9,500 in the First World War, and 15,000 in the Second.

05:25It's a challenging memorial for all of us, the Commission and the people of Portsmouth,

05:31to care for. It's strafed by the sea air, its soft stone suffers,

05:37but we work hard to keep the condition fresh, to preserve its integrity

05:43and its innate majesty, to ensure that as a memorial that marks the loss

05:48of those 25,000 sailors, that it will exist in perpetuity as a memorial

05:55to their lives, and that they will not, will not be forgotten.

06:01Now, as the number of veterans who took part in those momentous events fall

06:06to small numbers, the responsibility for keeping the stories of those

06:10that served alive passes on to the next generation.

06:15And to keep that alive, we must do. So I'd like to introduce Mr Simon Bendry,

06:21who has been the driving force between the Commission's torch of commemoration,

06:26which we initiated at the start of the D-Day 80 events,

06:30which started here in Portsmouth earlier this year.

06:35Here you see the lighting of a torch, our torch of commemoration.

06:41The inspiration for this torch came from several sources,

06:45including the First World War poem, In Flanders Fields,

06:48written by Canadian poet John McRae.

06:51In there is a line about holding high the torch and passing it to the next generation.

06:57To you, with failing hands, we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.

07:03We were inspired by this idea of lighting a torch and passing it on.

07:08When the torch proved hard to source, the Canadian charity generally offered to assist.

07:14Our torch of commemoration is a replica of the Canadian Remembrance Torch,

07:19which was designed and built by a team of engineering students

07:23from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

07:27In 2024, our torch of commemoration has travelled all across the United Kingdom,

07:33before it made its way here to Portsmouth and then on to France to commemorate D-Day.

07:39It has since travelled through Belgium and the Netherlands,

07:42following the routes taken by those fighting to liberate those countries 80 years ago.

07:49We will continue to light their legacy and ensure that all of those who served

07:54and those who died are not forgotten.

07:57But what was their legacy?

08:00Duncan Redford of the University of Portsmouth wrote,

08:03Without the Royal Navy's attention to the defence of Britain's seaborne trade,

08:08especially in the struggle against German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic,

08:12there would not have been food for this country, fuel for the RAF's operations,

08:18or supplies to keep the army fighting in Europe, North Africa and the Far East.

08:24Yet the outstanding naval contribution to Britain's survival and eventual victory

08:30came at a heavy cost in terms of ships,

08:33and to the men and women who had to face not just the violence of the enemy,

08:37but also the violence of the sea.

08:40This year, 100 years on from the unveiling of this memorial,

08:44we will light this torch as a symbol of our commitment to ensuring that their legacy lives on,

08:50that who they were and what they did is not forgotten,

08:54that it is commemorated, and that coming generations will remember them.

09:15To love one another as I have loved you,

09:19greater love has no one than this,

09:21to lay down one's life for one's friends.

09:25In 1924, the Lord Bishop of Southampton dedicated this memorial

09:31to the memory of those who died in what was known as the Great War,

09:35the war to end all wars.

09:38Sadly, it did not,

09:40and in the past 100 years, many more names have been added to these walls.

09:45Years go by, but the spirit of sacrifice and service remain unchanged.

09:51Therefore, on this centenary, we honour their sacrifice

09:56and prepare ourselves for future sacrifices

10:00by rededicating this memorial,

10:02using similar words to those that were used 100 years ago.

10:08Almighty God, we thank thee for the blessed and inspiring example of thy servants,

10:15who, girded with a loyal sense of the justice of their cause,

10:19dedicated their lives to the service of their country,

10:22that in safety, welfare and honour might be assured.

10:27May their sacrifice inspire us to nobler living

10:31and to a like devotion to our eternal homeland.

10:36If ever we are in danger of forgetting the cost of peace,

10:39or if ever our footsteps falter in the path of duty,

10:44may these memorials serve to be eloquent, embracing our hearts,

10:49reminding us afresh of the heroism of thy servants,

10:53who were faithful even to death.

10:56May we who look upon this monument be thy loyal children

11:00to our life's end. Amen.

11:04To the honour and glory of Almighty God,

11:07and in the hope of a joyful resurrection and reunion,

11:10we rededicate this memorial

11:13in memory of our brothers and sisters of the Royal Navy

11:16and the Royal Marines,

11:18who died for their sovereign and their country in the Great War,

11:22in World War II and in subsequent conflicts.

11:26Praying that we be inspired by their example of service and sacrifice.

11:32May God grant that all who look upon it

11:35may realise the peace of sins forgiven,

11:38the joy of faithful service

11:40and the power of the endless life

11:43to which may God vouchsafe to bring us all,

11:46through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

11:51The name of prayer.

11:53O Eternal Lord God,

11:55who alone rulest the raging of the sea,

11:58who has compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end,

12:03be pleased to receive into thy almighty and most gracious protection

12:07the persons of us thy servants,

12:10and the fleet in which we serve.

12:13Preserve us from the dangers of the sea and of the air

12:16and from the violence of the enemy,

12:19that we may be a safeguard

12:21unto our most gracious sovereign Lord, King Charles,

12:24and his dominions,

12:26and a security for such as pass on the seas upon their awful occasions,

12:31that the inhabitants of our islands and commonwealth

12:34may in peace and quietness serve thee, our God,

12:38and that we may return in safety to enjoy the blessings of the land

12:43with the fruits of our labours

12:45and with a thankful remembrance of thy mercies.

12:48To praise and glorify thy holy name. Amen.

12:53Finally, God grant to the living grace,

12:57to the departed rest,

12:59to the King, the Church, the Royal Navy, the Commonwealth,

13:03and all humankind, peace and concord.

13:06And to us and all his servants,

13:09life everlasting, and the blessing of God almighty,

13:12the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

13:16be among you and remain with you always.

13:19Amen.

13:22Hooray!

13:25Hup!

13:28Divisions, on cups!

13:33Hooray!

13:36Divisions, on cups!

13:41Hooray!

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16:37Right front.

16:52Left, left.

Portsmouth Naval Memorial rededication ceremony - 100th year anniversary

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