World War Two was to prove much more challenging and costly to both the Royal and Merchant Navies than the First World War. Whereas in 1914-18 the main threat was the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea and English Channel, in WW2 the powerful Italian Navy had to be faced in the Mediterranean followed in December 1941 by the Japanese assaults in the Far East leading to the fall of Singapore.
When the war ended in August 1945 the Admiralty decreed that the new casualties should simply be added to the existing Naval Memorials in Portsmouth, Chatham and Plymouth. Thus 26599 names listed by ship and date of sinking were added to the Portsmouth Memorial and unveiled by the Queen Mother on 29 April 1953, 15945 to the Plymouth Memorial unveiled by Princess Margaret on 20 May 1954 and 10,098 to the Chatham Memorial unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 October 1952. Likewise 36,000 names were also added to the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill.
New memorials were also built.
Liverpool Naval Memorial
Unveiled by Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham on 12 December 1952 this commemorates 1,400 RNR men, mostly Reservists and Merchant Navy officers who transferred to the Royal Navy. Most of them were killed protecting the Atlantic convoys from U-Boat attacks.
2. Fleet Air Arm Memorial - Lee-on-the-Solent
This commemorates 1,925 Fleet Air Arm personnel and was dedicated by the Duchess of Kent on 20 May 1953. The names include Sydney Horne, an Old Churcherian from Cosham who was a civilian photographer employed by the Admiralty. Posted to Scapa Flow he was killed flying as a passenger in a Swordfish of 833 Squadron. He was to photo a simulated torpedo attack but the plane suddenly stalled on take-off and crashed into the sea killing both Horne and the pilot Lt Iveson.
3. Royal Naval Patrol Service Memorial, Lowestoft
This commemorates 2,397 men of the Royal Patrol Services mostly killed in the North Sea serving on minesweepers, corvettes, fuel carriers, trawlers, motor launches and seaplane tenders. It was unveiled on 13 October 1953 by Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor.
4. National Submarine War Memorial, Victoria Embankment, London
This commemorates all submarines lost in both wars. 54 listed for WW1 and 79 for WW2.
A large bronze plaque shows bas-relief images of a Captain and three crew members in the control room of a submarine. A control image depicts sea spirits hugging at nets ensnaring the submarine and a bas-relief below shows a submarine cruising on the surface. Pilasters either side name the 50 submarines lost in World War One and 79 lost in WW2.
The memorial was unveiled by Admiral Sir Huge Sinclair on 15 December 1922 and the WW2 additions by Rear Admiral Bartram Taylor on 5 November 1959.
John Symonds
