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Plymouth Naval Memorial
Devon, England UK
Plymouth Naval Memorial commemorates 7,251 sailors of the First World War and 15,933 of the Second World War.
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Memorials were built to commemorate sailors of the Royal Navy who had died at sea in WW1 and had no known grave. An Admiralty committee recommended building memorials at the three main naval ports in Great Britain – Plymouth, Chatham, and Portsmouth. The memorials at all three sites were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer with sculpture by Henry Poole
It was unveiled on 29 July 1924.
Following World War II, the naval memorials were expanded to commemorate the dead from that war. Sir Edward Maufe performed the architectural design for the expansion at Plymouth, and the sculpture was by Charles Wheeler and William McMillan.
The Plymouth memorial also bears the names of sailors from Australia, South Africa, and India. The Plymouth Naval Memorial commemorates 7,251 sailors of the World War I and 15,933 of the World War II
The memorial is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It became a Grade II listed building in 1975, upgraded to Grade II* in 1998, and was further upgraded to Grade I in May 2016 for the centenary of the Battle of Jutland
Notable sailors commemorated at Plymouth
Victoria Crosses
- Lieut-Commander William Edward Sanders, Date of Death: 14/08/1917, Age: 34, Regiment/Service: Royal Naval Reserve H.M.S. "Prize." , Awards: V C, D S O, Panel Reference 23., Son of Edward Helman Cooke Sanders and Emma Jane Sanders, of Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Held Extra Master's Certificate (Mercantile Marine). Born at Auckland, New Zealand. William Edward Sanders WIKI
Citation: An extract from the London Gazette, No. 30147, dated 22nd June, 1917, records the following- "In recognition of his conspicuous gallantry, consummate coolness, and skill in command of one of H.M. ships in action."