THE QUEEN TO UNVEIL SEAMEN’S MEMORIAL
The Queen is to unveil the
Merchant Navy Memorial on Tower Hill on November 5 this year, and
the dedication will be by the Archbishop of Canterbury, The next-of-kin
of those commemorated on the memorial will receive invitations to the
ceremony which are being posted on March 21.
The memorial, being built by the Imperial War Graves Commission
to the design of Sir Edward Maufe, R.A., honours 24,000 officers and
men of the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets, and is an extension of the
1914-18 memorial in the form of a garden on the walls of which will be
fixed bronze panels bearing the names. Two sculptured figures of
sailors stand at the garden entrances and between the bronze panels are
sculptures of the Seven Seas. The sculptor is Mr Charles Wheeler. R.A.
From THE TIMES (London) Tuesday 1st March 1955
MEMORIAL
TO 24,000
MERCHANT SEAMEN
In
the garden on the Tower Hill in which already stands a memorial to
12,000 merchant seamen who died in the First World War the Queen on
Saturday unveiled a new memorial to nearly 24,000 men of the Merchant
Navy, the fishing fleets, and the lighthouse and pilotage services who
lost their lives between 1939 and 1945 and whose only grave is
the sea.
Around the two memorials, now an impressive whole, were gathered
some 16,000 relatives of those commemorated. They had come from all
parts of Britain and some from the Commonwealth. They carried
wreaths and flowers which later - until after dusk had fallen and the
memorial had been floodlit -they were to place on the sunken lawn near
the names inscribed in relief on bronze commemorative panels.
The memorial was lit with sunshine when the Queen unveiled it.
Last post was sounded by buglers of the Royal Marines, and the memorial
was then dedicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Fisher.
After Reveille the Moderator of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. G.D. Henderson, gave thanks “for these
our brothers whose names are graven on this stone, and who in the day
of peril gave their lives for our safety and defence.”
“A SPLENDID COMPANY”
With the Queen were the
Duke of Edinburgh, in the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet; the Duke
of Gloucester, president of the Imperial War Graves Commission, in the
uniform of Master of the Elder Brethren of the Corporation of Trinity
House; and Mr Head, chairman of the Imperial War Graves
Commission and Secretary of State for War. Among the guests were
representatives of the Governments of the United Kingdom and the
Commonwealth, including Sir Anthony Eden, senior officers of the three
Services, and many representatives of shipping companies and
organisations.
Speaking before the unveiling the Queen praised the men whose
names were commemorated. “They were members,” she said, “of a splendid
company of brave men and women, from many nations and all countries of
the Commonwealth, who served in fellowship under the Red Ensign, and
who maintained the great traditions of their service wherever the
war was waged at sea......... To sustain the life of a nation at
war they endured the dangers of their great calling, and in that cause
they laid down their lives.”
The true memorial of these men was to be found in the lives of
those who now, and in the years to come, would hold fast to those
ideals for which they died. “It rests with us, and with those who
will come after us, to give to their heroism that enduring memorial
which shall far outlast this garden and these stones.”
ALLEGORICAL FIGURES
The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh,
and the Duke of Gloucester later laid wreaths, followed by Ministers of
State and the High Commissioners of countries of the Commonwealth.
After inspecting the memorial the Queen walked among the relatives.
The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe, R.A. and has been
built by the Imperial War Graves Commission. It extends the existing
memorial and takes the form of a sunken garden. The bronze-faced
surrounding wall records a total of 23,765 names, shown alphabetically
under the ships in which the men served. The commemorative panels are
relieved by seven stone allegorical figures, representing the Seven
Seas. The approach to the garden from the 1914-18 memorial is
flanked by pylons on which the Merchant Navy badges and wreaths are
carved in relief; the main dedicatory inscription between these
pylons is guarded by the sculptured figures of an officer and a seaman
of the Merchant Navy. In the centre of the sunken lawn is a
bronze representation of a mariners’ compass. The various sculptures
are the work of Mr Charles Wheeler. R.A.
From THE TIMES (London) 7th November 1955
Dedication of the memorial to merchant seamen on 5th November 1955. Copyright ©
Created 13 July 1998
Modified 31 July 2005