Portsmouth Naval Memorial rededication ceremony - 100th year anniversary
Thousands of Royal Navy personnel who lost their lives during both world wars are named and pictured on the memorial.
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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.