Launch of Heart of Oak Memory tree for Royal Navy sailors at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Launch of Heart of Oak Memory tree at Historic Dockyard

Transcript

00:00Today is about remembrance, about bringing us together, about comfort and time together and creating connection.

00:09It was delightful. It was charming, it was lovely, it was entirely appropriate and it was on a splendid day,

00:16being on this particular day of the year, on Trafalgar Day, it all came together quite wonderfully, very moving.

00:23And the tree is rather beautiful as well. It was hand-cut, which is incredible and mind-blowing, particularly to me.

00:32And it has two of our relatives on there. And what's rather nice is it raises funds for today's naval family as well.

00:40So it's sort of looking at generations and looking for the future as well.

00:46Yeah, the continuity of the past and the present and the future with HMS Victory, Trafalgar Day right beside us.

00:54The tree, the memories of the people whose names are going to be on the tree and into the future. It's a wonderful connection.

01:01I was going to say, as an actual memorial for remembrance, it's very quite poignant because whenever you're serving,

01:07you're always looking at the people who served before you. Do you think sailors of the modern day will be able to reflect on that?

01:13I think they do. Times change and people don't change all that much, even though fashions change.

01:19Once you get out there at sea, it's the same as it was forever.

01:23And people's attitudes tend to, you know, take the traditional approach to thinking of the past,

01:31thinking of their fellow sailors, thinking of the future and the legacy they'll leave, yes.

01:37If you log on to the Heart of Oak Memory Tree website, you can also look up the names that are on the tree and find out about them

01:45because we've all given a lot of background about our relatives and lots of other photos and everything.

01:50So that's really nice as well. And if I was coming down here, I'd spend hours doing it.

01:55The Navy is a big family, past, present and future. Even people you don't know are part of your naval family.

02:01And we all have, we have far more in common than we ever have in difference. And it's lovely to be able to celebrate that.

02:08So do you think that concept of having a Royal Navy family, do you think that's encapsulated by the memory tree?

02:13Oh, I think so, yes. Absolutely, yes.

02:15And as soon as you heard about the project, did you think it was a no-brainer to put Mark and David's names on that?

02:21John and David's, yes, yes, absolutely.

02:24Yeah, absolutely.

02:25Particularly as it's 80 years since the end of the Second World War,

02:29and they both had quite interesting Second World Wars. My grandfather was a D-Day veteran,

02:34and my great uncle was on Arc Royal, well, jumped off the side of Arc Royal when she sank in 1941,

02:40and survived, and has some very interesting medals. It's just a really, particularly this year,

02:46it's just a really poignant way to remember them both, and remember all the other members of the family

02:52who've served as well, and given their lives, you know, sort of...

02:56I think they'd be tickle pink if they could stand here and see their names on,

03:00and they'd say, what on earth is my name doing there? How marvellous!