The Dover Patrol Monuments are a trio of war memorials designed by Sir

Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in p ...

to commemorate the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

of the First World War. Two identical granite memorial obelisks, high, were erected near

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

and on the

Cap Blanc-Nez Cap Blanc-Nez (french: kap blɑ̃ ne, literally "Cape White Nose" in English; from Dutch ''Blankenesse'', white headland) is a cape on the Côte d'Opale, in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'', in northern France, culminating at 134 m. The cli ...

near

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

in 1921 and 1922. A third was erected in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, in 1931. The UK monument became a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

in August 1966, promoted to Grade II* in August 2015.

Background

The Dover Patrol was formed in July 1914, around a nucleus of the 12 Tribal class destroyers. Through the First World War, a variety of craft served in the patrol—cruisers, destroyers old and new, submarines, mine-sweepers,

armed trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built t ...

s and drifters, armed yachts, motor launches and other coastal craft—as well as a variety of aircraft - flying boats, aeroplanes, and airships. From time to time, French destroyers were included in the patrol. The patrol covered the southern part of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

and the eastern portion of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, including the

Straits of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continen ...

. Its duties included escorting merchant ships, hospital ships and troop transports; anti-submarine patrols; sweeping for German mines, and laying British minefields and anti-submarine nets; and bombarding German land forces on the coast of Belgium and northern France. It was commanded by Admiral

Reginald Bacon Admiral Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, (6 September 1863 – 9 June 1947) was an officer in the Royal Navy noted for his technical abilities. He was described by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher, as the man "acknowledged to be the ...

from 1914 until his retirement at the end of 1917, and then by Vice-Admiral

Roger Keyes Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, (4 October 1872 – 26 December 1945) was a British naval officer. As a junior officer he served in a corvette operating from Zanzibar on slavery suppression missions. Ea ...

. Six members of the patrol were awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

in a single action on 22–23 April 1918, for their part in the

Zeebrugge Raid The Zeebrugge Raid ( nl, Aanval op de haven van Zeebrugge; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent Germ ...

to block the entrance to the port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and so prevent German vessels from leaving port. Some 2,000 members of the patrol lost their lives during the war. A committee was formed in November 1918 to raise a public subscription for the erection of a monument in memory of the patrol. Over £45,000 was raised, including £1,000 donated by King Albert and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen ...

of the Belgians.

Description

A granite memorial obelisk was designed by Sir

, perhaps better known as the designer of Admiralty Arch, the Victoria Memorial on the Mall, and the façade of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, all in London. Three obelisks were erected, the first at Leathercote Point to the east of St Margaret's Bay at

St Margaret's at Cliffe St. Margaret's at Cliffe is a three-part village situated just off the coast road between Deal and Dover in Kent, England. The centre of the village is about ¾ mile (1km) from the sea, with the residential area of Nelson Park further inland, and ...

near Dover, on land donated by

Granville Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville (4 March 1872 – 21 July 1939) was a British diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family who was an envoy to several countries. Career The elder son of the 2nd Earl Granville, Leveson-Gower was e ...

; a second at Cap Blanc Nez near Sangatte in northern France; and a third in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The monument has an air of

Egyptian architecture Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles diff ...

. It comprises a high obelisk of square section constructed from large granite blocks, with a pyramidal top. The obelisk stands on a tall stone plinth, which flares out onto a square base. Three sides of the base have a frame of

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

blocks around an inscription.

Dover memorial

The first stone of the memorial near Dover was laid by Prince Arthur of Connaught on 19 November 1919. The completed monument was unveiled by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

on 27 July 1921. On both occasions a dedication was led by

Harold Bilbrough Harold Ernest Bilbrough (1867 – 15 November 1950) was the fourth Anglican Bishop of Dover in the modern era. Life and career Bilbrough was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, he began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy a ...

, the Suffragan

Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop ...

. The south-western side is inscribed "THIS STONE WAS LAID BY / H.R.H. PRINCE ARTHUR OF CONNAUGHT, K.G. / 19TH NOVEMBER 1919 / AND THE MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED BY / H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES, K.G. / 27TH JULY 1921." The north-western unframed side is inscribed "THIS MONUMENT / TO THE / DOVER PATROL / WAS ERECTED IN THE YEARS 1920 & 1921 BY / PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION TOGETHER WITH THOSE / AT CAP BLANC NEZ, FRANCE / AND NEW YORK HARBOUR, / AMERICA. / THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES SERVING THEIR KING / AND COUNTRY IN THE DOVER PATROL ARE RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF / REMEMBRANCE IN THE TOWN HALL, DOVER, A COPY OF WHICH IS KEPT / AT THE PARISH CHURCH, ST MARGARETS AT CLIFFE". The south-eastern side of the monument is inscribed "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN EVERLASTING / REMEMBRANCE OF / THE DOVER PATROL / 1914 - 1919 / THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE / MAY WE BE WORTHY OF THEIR SACRIFICE / TO THE MEMORY OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE ROYAL NAVY AND MERCHANT NAVY / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN SHIPS SAILING UPON THE WATERS OF THE DOVER STRAIT / 1939 - 1946". A Book of Remembrance listing nearly the names of 2,000 war dead from the Dover Patrol is held at St Margaret's Church, near the monument. A Coastguard Station was erected nearby, and a radar station during the Second World War. The monument became a Grade II

in August 1966, promoted to Grade II* in August 2015.

Calais memorial

A second obelisk stands on top of Cap Blanc Nez near Sangatte in the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, "strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of ...

. Part of the inscription is in French, which claims that the monument was inaugurated by Flaminius Raiberti ( the then minister of the French Navy) on 20 July 1922). It also claims that the first stone was laid by Maréchal Foch on 28 January 1920. The memorial was blown up during the occupation and rebuilt in 1962. There are German bunkers in the cliffside. The memorial was drawn by Leon de Keyser (an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

from

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

) and built by Martiny of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. The memorial was renovated in 2007 as part of the renewal of the ''Grand Site de France Les Deux-Caps''. Near the monument there is also a monument dedicated to

Hubert Latham Arthur Charles Hubert Latham (10 January 1883 – 25 June 1912) was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Due to engine failure during his first of two attempts to cross ...

New York memorial

A third obelisk was erected near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in

John Paul Jones Park John Paul Jones Park is a public park located in Fort Hamilton, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The park borders Shore Road, Fourth Avenue, 101st Street, and Fort Hamilton Parkway. The park is managed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreatio ...

, in 1931. Inscriptions on the New York memorial read: "THIS MONUMENT / TO THE DOVER PATROL / ERECTED AS A TRIBUTE TO THE / COMRADSHIP AND SERVICE OF THE / AMERICAN NAVAL FORCES / IN EUROPE / DURING THE WORLD WAR. / MONUMENTS OF IDENTICAL DESIGN AT / DOVER ENGLAND - CAP BLANC NEZ FRANCE - NEW YORK, NY. / ERECTED FROM FUNDS PROVIDED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION / IN GREAT BRITAIN" and then: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN EVERLASTING / REMEMBRANCE OF / THE DOVER PATROL / 1914-1919 / THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE / MAY WE BE / WORTHY OF THEIR SACRIFICE" and the date "1931". The New York memorial was recently named a "WWI Centennial Memorial" after being enter in the 100 Cities - 100 Memorials competition. File:St Margaret's at Cliffe and memorial from Strait of Dover.jpg, View of the memorial on the cliffs near Dover File:Dover Patrol memorial, Cap Blanc Nez.jpg, View of the memorial on the cliffs near Calais File:Former Coastguard Station - geograph.org.uk - 1408810.jpg, Former Coastguard Station beside the monument near Dover

Notes

References

The Dover War Memorial website

Dover Patrol Memorial
on the

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

website
Dover Patrol Memorial on the ''Britain at War'' magazine website

Dover Patrol Memorial, ''White Cliffs Country'' website

Dover Patrol Memorial on the St Margaret's village archive website

Dover Patrol Memorial on the St Margaret's village archive website

Dover Patrol Memorial
on the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

website
The Dover Patrol on the ''Dover (Kent)'' website

* ttp://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/john-paul-jones-park/monuments/397 Dover Patrol Monument in John Paul Jones Parkon the

NYC Parks The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolo ...

website {{Public art in Brooklyn Grade II* listed buildings in Kent Military history of Dover, Kent Monuments and memorials in Brooklyn Naval monuments and memorials Obelisks in England Obelisks in France Obelisks in the United States World War I in the Pas-de-Calais World War I memorials in the United Kingdom World War I memorials in the United States World War II memorials in England