The Portsmouth Naval Memorial, sometimes known as Southsea Naval Memorial, is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

, Hampshire, England, on Southsea Common beside Clarence Esplanade, between

Clarence Pier Clarence Pier is an amusement pier in Portsmouth, Hampshire. It is located next to Southsea Hoverport. Unlike most seaside piers in the UK, the pier does not extend very far out to sea and instead goes ''along'' the coast. History The pier w ...

and

Southsea Castle Southsea Castle, historically also known as Chaderton Castle, South Castle and Portsea Castle, is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII on Portsea Island, Hampshire, in 1544. It formed part of the King's Device programme to ...

. The memorial commemorates approximately 25,000 British and Commonwealth sailors who were lost in the World Wars, around 10,000 sailors in the First World War and 15,000 in the Second World War. The memorial features a central obelisk, with names of the dead on bronze plaques arranged around the memorial according to the year of death. To commemorate sailors who had died at sea in the First World War and had no known grave, an Admiralty committee recommended building memorials at the three main naval ports in Great Britain: Chatham,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

, and

. Identical memorials at all three sites were designed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

, with sculpture by Henry Poole. A separate memorial in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

commemorates the lost from the

Royal Naval Patrol Service The Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) was a branch of the Royal Navy active during both the First and Second World Wars. The RNPS operated many small auxiliary vessels such as naval trawlers for anti-submarine and minesweeping operations to prot ...

; the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

is commemorated in

Lee-on-the-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a resi ...

; and merchant seamen are commemorated at the

Liverpool Naval Memorial The Liverpool Naval Memorial, also known as the Memorial to the Missing of the Naval Auxiliary Personnel of the Second World War or the Merchant Navy War Memorial, is a war memorial at Pier Head beside the River Mersey in Liverpool, near to th ...

and the

Tower Hill Memorial The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant ...

in London. The

Royal Naval Division War Memorial The Royal Naval Division Memorial is a First World War memorial located on Horse Guards Parade in central London, and dedicated to members of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division (RND) killed in that conflict. Sir Edwin Lutyens designed the memorial ...

is on

Horseguards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. H ...

in London. The memorial is made of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...

, with a prominent central obelisk topped by a metal finial. Steps lead up to a plinth bearing bronze inscription plaques fixed to the obelisk's base bearing the names of the lost. Each corner projects as a buttress, surmounted by a statue of a reclining lion, beneath a stepped base to the obelisk. The four-sided obelisk tapers slightly to a stepped top with an elaborate finial with corner ships prows and bronze supports to a verdigris copper ball. The memorial was unveiled on 15 October 1924 by

Albert, Duke of York George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Indi ...

(later King George VI). The memorial was extended after the Second World War, to a design by Sir Edward Maufe. Names of those lost in the Second World War are recorded on panels set into the low walls of an enclosure added to the north, leading to a barrel-vaulted pavilion on each side. Additional sculpture was created by Charles Wheeler, William McMillan, and

Esmond Burton Esmond can refer to: People * Annie Esmond (1873–1945), British film actress *Burton D. Esmond (1870–1944), American lawyer, politician * Carl Esmond (1902–2004), Austrian actor * Henry V. Esmond (1869–1922), English actor, playwright * Jame ...

. The additions were unveiled by the

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

, on 29 April 1953. The memorial is maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

. It became a listed building in 1972, and was upgraded to Grade I in May 2016 for the centenary of the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice ...

References

Portsmouth Naval Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission *

{{coord, 50.7824, -1.0958, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Portsmouth Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials Naval monuments and memorials British military memorials and cemeteries World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England 1924 establishments in the United Kingdom 1924 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Hampshire Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire

See also

References