Royal Naval Cemetery (once known as Naval and Military Cemetery) is a cemetery on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct fr ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England. The site overlooks Portland Harbour, and is found below the main entrance to the

Verne Citadel Verne Citadel is a 19th-century citadel on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Located on the highest point of Portland, Verne Hill, it sits in a commanding position overlooking Portland Harbour, which it was built to defend. It later became H ...

( HM Prison The Verne). As the name suggests, the graveyard holds deceased servicemen and officers of Portland's

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 ...

which was stationed at the island until 1995. The cemetery holds 140 identified casualties in total to date, and is owned by the Ministry of Defence. The cemetery was first laid out during the 19th century. With the establishment of a naval base at Portland Harbour, and the Verne Citadel fortification, a number of fatalities began to occur. Burials of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918) total 65, where 5 remain unidentified. The majority of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1939–1945) graves are together in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

section, near the Cross of Sacrifice. Of the buried, 10 are unidentified, whilst there are burials for 1 Norwegian Merchant Navy seaman and 12 German airmen. The cemetery remains well looked after to date and features a small amount of newer burials of recently deceased servicemen.

Burials and memorials

Seaman Jack Foreman Mantle is buried at the cemetery, a Leading Seaman who was killed on 4 July 1940 during a German air raid on HMS ''Foylebank'' which was berthed in Portland's harbour at the time. Although mortally wounded, Mantle manned the starboard 20mm pom-pom gun until he died which earned himself a posthumous

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 previously ...

for his actions. This was only the second occasion that the Victoria Cross has been awarded for action in the United Kingdom. The victims of the 1957 HMS ''Sidon'' torpedo explosion are found in the cemetery. The event occurred in Portland's harbour with the loss of 13 lives after a faulty torpedo sank the submarine.

References

External links

*
Index of buried at the Royal Naval Cemetery
{{Isle of Portland Isle of Portland Cemeteries in Dorset British military memorials and cemeteries Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England

Burials and memorials

See also

References

External links