Hampshire wall of remembrance unveiled tomorrow
Relatives of the men who died on HMS Hampshire in 1916 will gather with local people tomorrow, Sunday, to mark the moment when the ship went down.
A special service of commemoration will be held at Marwick Head, at which the restored Kitchener Memorial and new commemorative wall will be unveiled, high above the waters where HMS Hampshire and HM Drifter Laurel Crown were sunk, by mines, in 1916.
Around 100 descendants of those who died a century ago are expected to take part in the event, travelling to Orkney from across the UK and from as far away as Ireland and Spain.
The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan will be above the wreck of the Hampshire and will fire a single gun salute at 8.45pm – the moment, 100 years ago, that the ship was lost. A two-minute silence will follow, before another single gun salute.
A wreath will be placed from HMS Duncan above the wreck site. Wreaths and poppy crosses will be placed at the Kitchener Memorial and commemorative wall. After the service ends, a lone piper will play a lament as he leads those attending the service away from Marwick Head.
Anyone is welcome to attend the service on Marwick Head, but as there will be no parking in the vicinity of Marwick, it is suggested that they are dropped off and make their way to the monument.
Alternately, buses will run from Kirkwall, Stromness and the Birsay Hall, but the free tickets are limited and need to be booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/orkneyislandscouncil
The service, which starts at 8pm, will also be shown on big screens at the Birsay Hall and broadcast over the internet.
HMS Hampshire sank on June 5, 1916, with the loss of 737 lives. Among the dead was Lord Kitchener, Britain’s Secretary of State for War.
The battleshop was bound for Russia on a diplomatic and military mission aimed at boosting Russia’s efforts on the Eastern Front during the First World War.
In stormy conditions, the British warship struck a mine laid by German submarine U-75 off Marwick Head. Only 12 crewmen survived.
In 1926, the people of Orkney erected the Kitchener Memorial above the cliffs at Marwick Head, overlooking the site of the tragedy. The Orkney Heritage Society has been carrying out a project to restore the memorial to its original condition and create the new commemorative wall.
The curved wall has been built from local stone and inlaid with granite engraved with the names of those who died on the Hampshire – and the nine servicemen killed when HM drifter Laurel Crown, sank after hitting another mine less than three weeks later.