Royal Naval Cemetery
The Royal Naval Cemetery, once known as the Naval and Military Cemetery, is a cemetery below the northern side of the Verne Citadel and overlooking Portland Harbour. The site contains the graves of servicemen and officers, mainly those of the Royal Navy. It is split into three sections (Church of England, Roman Catholic and Non-Conformist) and contains 164 graves of casualties from both World Wars.
History
Establishment of cemetery
In the mid-19th century, Portland Roads was transformed into a harbour of refuge with the building of two breakwater arms, while various fortifications were constructed to protect it, including the Verne Citadel. With the increasing military presence on the island and the rising use of Portland Harbour by the Royal Navy, a cemetery overlooking the harbour was laid out at North Common in 1876.
The new cemetery was established by the War Office, but was intended for the burial of Royal Navy sailors as well as the soldiers stationed at the Verne. The Admiralty had previously established their own small burial ground, now known as Strangers' Cemetery, at Castle Road, in 1861. Convict labour was used to level the site of the new cemetery and enclose it with walls of Portland stone.
The first burial to take place at the site actually preceded the laying out and formation of the cemetery. Mary Jane McGee, the wife of Lance Corporal McGee of the 1st Battalion of the 102nd (Royal Madras) Fusiliers, was buried at the site on 21 April 1876 in a grave excavated by convicts. After the funeral, the grave was filled up with stones and the surrounding space was then enclosed with its own stone wall.
20th century and present use
As the number of soldier burials declined during the early 20th century, the War Office transferred the cemetery to the Admiralty in 1907. The cemetery was extended to the west in 1914 "for the interment of persons of His Majesty's service, whether naval, military or civil, and the members of their families who shall die in or near Portland." Once the work was completed, the Bishop of Salisbury, Frederick Ridgeway, consecrated the cemetery on 18 May that year. Those present at the service included Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender, various naval officers, and men of the Second Battle Squadron. The cemetery would see 65 burials during the course of World War I (1914-18).
After the war, the cemetery fell into a condition described by the Western Gazette as a "scandalous state". A major tidy-up of the site was carried out in 1924, bringing it back into "proper condition". The work included the relaying of pathways and the restoration of collapsed headstones. In 1926, a Cross of Sacrifice made of Portland stone was erected in the cemetery by the Imperial War Graves Commission. In the presence of 200 representatives of the Royal Navy, Army and local authorities, the monument was unveiled on 25 November by Rear-Admiral W. E. Kelly, Commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. It was dedicated by the naval chaplain Rev. J. W. B. Moore, with assistance from Rev. N. B. Kent, chaplain of HMS Vulcan.
World War II (1939-45) saw a further 103 burials at the cemetery, including twelve German airmen and a Norwegian Merchant Navy seaman. An extension of the Roman Catholic section of the cemetery was carried out in the mid-20th century. With the upcoming closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1996, a memorial stone contained within the base was relocated to the cemetery in May 1995. The stone, which is in remembrance of all personnel of HMS Osprey who lost their lives post-1945, was commissioned following the loss of the Ship's Flight helicopter of HMS Brilliant off Vipingo, Kenya, on 14 May 1989. The plaque records the names of six members of the Royal Navy and one member of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Today the site continues to be owned by the Ministry of Defence and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. During March 2014, the site was a victim of vandalism and sparked local outcry - a number of headstones were damaged and the cemetery's small storage building was heavily damaged and subsequently demolished.
Burials
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC News Dorset - Dorset coastguard gallantry medal given to navy museum - January 2011 - website page
2) Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Portland Royal Naval Cemetery - website page
3) Exploring Portland - Portland Port, Naval Cemetery and a Gun Battery - Geoff Kirby - website page
4) Hansard 1803-2005 - Loss of Naval Pinnace (Inquiry) - website page
5) Military Dorset Today: Second World War Scenes and Settings That Can Still Be Seen 50 Years on - Colin A. Pomeroy - Silver Link Publishing Ltd - 1995 - ISBN: 978-1857940770 - page 130 - book
6) Pastscape - Monument No. 1413297 - website page
7) Report of the Directors of Convict Prisons - Portland Prison - Extracts from the Governor's report for the year 1876
8) Roll of Honour - Dorset - Portland H.M.S. Sidon (Submarine) War Memorial - Carolynn Langley - website page
9) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
10) The Royal Navy at Portland since 1845 - Geoffrey Carter - Maritime Books - 1986 - ISBN: 978-0907771296 - pages 28, 109 - book
History
Establishment of cemetery
In the mid-19th century, Portland Roads was transformed into a harbour of refuge with the building of two breakwater arms, while various fortifications were constructed to protect it, including the Verne Citadel. With the increasing military presence on the island and the rising use of Portland Harbour by the Royal Navy, a cemetery overlooking the harbour was laid out at North Common in 1876.
The new cemetery was established by the War Office, but was intended for the burial of Royal Navy sailors as well as the soldiers stationed at the Verne. The Admiralty had previously established their own small burial ground, now known as Strangers' Cemetery, at Castle Road, in 1861. Convict labour was used to level the site of the new cemetery and enclose it with walls of Portland stone.
The first burial to take place at the site actually preceded the laying out and formation of the cemetery. Mary Jane McGee, the wife of Lance Corporal McGee of the 1st Battalion of the 102nd (Royal Madras) Fusiliers, was buried at the site on 21 April 1876 in a grave excavated by convicts. After the funeral, the grave was filled up with stones and the surrounding space was then enclosed with its own stone wall.
20th century and present use
As the number of soldier burials declined during the early 20th century, the War Office transferred the cemetery to the Admiralty in 1907. The cemetery was extended to the west in 1914 "for the interment of persons of His Majesty's service, whether naval, military or civil, and the members of their families who shall die in or near Portland." Once the work was completed, the Bishop of Salisbury, Frederick Ridgeway, consecrated the cemetery on 18 May that year. Those present at the service included Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender, various naval officers, and men of the Second Battle Squadron. The cemetery would see 65 burials during the course of World War I (1914-18).
After the war, the cemetery fell into a condition described by the Western Gazette as a "scandalous state". A major tidy-up of the site was carried out in 1924, bringing it back into "proper condition". The work included the relaying of pathways and the restoration of collapsed headstones. In 1926, a Cross of Sacrifice made of Portland stone was erected in the cemetery by the Imperial War Graves Commission. In the presence of 200 representatives of the Royal Navy, Army and local authorities, the monument was unveiled on 25 November by Rear-Admiral W. E. Kelly, Commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. It was dedicated by the naval chaplain Rev. J. W. B. Moore, with assistance from Rev. N. B. Kent, chaplain of HMS Vulcan.
World War II (1939-45) saw a further 103 burials at the cemetery, including twelve German airmen and a Norwegian Merchant Navy seaman. An extension of the Roman Catholic section of the cemetery was carried out in the mid-20th century. With the upcoming closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1996, a memorial stone contained within the base was relocated to the cemetery in May 1995. The stone, which is in remembrance of all personnel of HMS Osprey who lost their lives post-1945, was commissioned following the loss of the Ship's Flight helicopter of HMS Brilliant off Vipingo, Kenya, on 14 May 1989. The plaque records the names of six members of the Royal Navy and one member of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Today the site continues to be owned by the Ministry of Defence and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. During March 2014, the site was a victim of vandalism and sparked local outcry - a number of headstones were damaged and the cemetery's small storage building was heavily damaged and subsequently demolished.
Burials
- Leading Seaman Albert Ernest Jacobs was buried at the cemetery on 21 March 1932. His body was one of only two to be recovered from the submarine aircraft carrier HMS M2 after it sank in Lyme Bay on 26 January with the loss of all sixty hands.
- Leading Seaman Jack Foreman Mantle was killed on 4 July 1940 during the German air raid on HMS Foylebank, which was berthed in Portland Harbour at the time. Although mortally wounded, Mantle continued to man the starboard QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" gun until the ship's electric power failed and he collapsed. He was buried in the cemetery and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions, which was the second occasion that the honour has been awarded for action in the United Kingdom.
- Robert Henry Treadwell was one of two Dorset coastguards who died during an attempted rescue of crew from a wrecked landing craft at Chesil Beach on 13 October 1944. Both coastguards were swept away while trying to secure a line to the craft. Treadwell was buried in the cemetery with naval honours and posthumously received the Silver Sea Gallantry Medal, which was only awarded seven times between 1937-47.
- Sixteen crew members of HMS Illustrious are buried in the cemetery. On the night of 17 October 1948, a motor pinnace containing fifty liberty men from the aircraft carrier sank in Portland Harbour with a loss of 29 lives. The pinnace had departed for the carrier from Weymouth Pier shortly after 10pm in adverse conditions. It capsized as the boat had been overloaded, failed to reduce its speed or turn back to Weymouth when it encountered increasingly harsh conditions. The pinnace foundered around fifty yards from Illustrious.
- All thirteen victims of the HMS Sidon torpedo explosion are buried in the cemetery. The event occurred in Portland Harbour on 16 June 1955 after a faulty "Fancy" torpedo exploded and sank the submarine. A week later, the submarine was raised and the bodies of the men removed. They were buried with full honours at the cemetery on 28 June.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC News Dorset - Dorset coastguard gallantry medal given to navy museum - January 2011 - website page
2) Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Portland Royal Naval Cemetery - website page
3) Exploring Portland - Portland Port, Naval Cemetery and a Gun Battery - Geoff Kirby - website page
4) Hansard 1803-2005 - Loss of Naval Pinnace (Inquiry) - website page
5) Military Dorset Today: Second World War Scenes and Settings That Can Still Be Seen 50 Years on - Colin A. Pomeroy - Silver Link Publishing Ltd - 1995 - ISBN: 978-1857940770 - page 130 - book
6) Pastscape - Monument No. 1413297 - website page
7) Report of the Directors of Convict Prisons - Portland Prison - Extracts from the Governor's report for the year 1876
8) Roll of Honour - Dorset - Portland H.M.S. Sidon (Submarine) War Memorial - Carolynn Langley - website page
9) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
10) The Royal Navy at Portland since 1845 - Geoffrey Carter - Maritime Books - 1986 - ISBN: 978-0907771296 - pages 28, 109 - book
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