Royal Engineers & US National Guard boost our project

Boots on the scaffolding at the Kitchener Memorial (image: Leslie Burgher)

An aerial view of work to create the HMS Hampshire wall (image: Leslie Burgher)

Our project has taken big strides in the past week with help from the British Army and US National Guard in restoring Orkney’s Kitchener Memorial and building a commemorative wall to the men lost with him on HMS Hampshire during the First World War.

A squad from 71 Engineer Regiment’s 10 (Orkney) Field Troop have been working with colleagues from both the US Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. They are due to finish their part of the project tomorrow (Tuesday 4 August).

Earl Kitchener himself served with the Royal Engineers so it was appropriate to have some of his successors working on his memorial’s restoration (mortar picking) and creating the foundations to the new HMS Hampshire commemorative wall, alongside our contractors Casey Construction Ltd.

The appearance of the military at Marwick Head caused much interest locally. You can read a detailed report in The Orcadian newspaper when it publishes on Thursday.

Meanwhile, take a listen to this edition of BBC Radio Orkney’s Around Orkney (11 minutes in)…

And take a look at this video (with audio) posted by Orkney.com…

Andrew Hollinrake, a member of our Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial project committee, told the press: “We are most grateful to the Royal Engineers for their help on this important memorial work. Their effort moves our work on substantially, and reduces our funding gap. We are getting donations from relatives and others, but still have a gap to fill.

“Several of Kitchener’s party setting out for Russia were serving Army officers, and two senior civil servants from the Ministry of Munitions in the party were temporarily given Army rank, a Brigadier-General and a Lieutenant-Colonel, presumably for the benefit of the Russians who no doubt would expect such a military mission to be made up of high-ranking officers.

“Kitchener himself started his army career as an officer in the Corps of Royal Engineers, so it’s fitting that Orkney’s Army Reservists, alongside personnel from the USA, are helping with the work on his memorial since they are now part of 71 Engineer Regiment.”

Digging out the foundations of the HMS Hampshire wall (image: Leslie Burgher)

Earl Kitchener, Britain’s Secretary of State for War, was among those lost when HMS Hampshire, sailing from Scapa Flow to Russia, sank just off Orkney’s Atlantic coast in 1916.

Restoration work started on the 90-year-old Kitchener Memorial, a 48-feet high stone tower, at the end of June. It involves restoring the stonework to its original condition, inspecting and repairing the roof, reinstating the ventilation and restoring the inspection doorway.

The HMS Hampshire wall – to “better remember” all those lost on HMS Hampshire – will, when complete, carry the engraved names of all 737 men lost with the warship.

Orkney Heritage Society volunteers still need around £15,000 to complete the project and are seeking further funding.

A fund-raising guided walk on Sunday led by Andrew to Stromness wartime sites, including the Ness Battery, raised £115.

Signpost to the Kitchener Memorial (image: Graham Brown)

Anyone wishing to donate towards the project can do so online at justgiving.com/orkneyheritagesociety/ or send a cheque payable to Orkney Heritage Society.

Please continue to follow the progress of our project via this blog, on Facebook (@Kitchener.Memorial) and Twitter (@kitchenerorkney).

Oh, and if you are a reader of the monthly magazine Living Orkney, we’re in that as well. L.C. Littlejohn’s article is in the August edition, in the shops now.

Graham Brown

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Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial: first grant secured, planning permission sought

Hello again. First of all, good news since our last blog. As you may have read or heard if you live in Orkney, the Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial project was awarded a £50,000 grant by Orkney Islands Council’s Community Development Fund sub-committee.

This is a big step forward for our project, and work is going on behind the scenes to secure more funding towards the estimated £200,000 cost. I hope we will be able to bring you more news soon.

In the last blog I wrote about the arc shape which was chosen for the HMS Hampshire commemorative wall, after public consultation. Since then we have applied to Orkney Islands Council for the necessary planning permission to build this wall next to the Kitchener Memorial.

Kitchener Memorial at sunset (image: Andrew Hollinrake)

For those of you new to our Orkney Heritage Society project, we hope to restore the Kitchener Memorial, built in the 1920s to remember Earl Kitchener, a hero of the British Empire, and to create a low commemorative wall alongside on which will be engraved more than 700 names – all those who were lost, including Kitchener, when HMS Hampshire hit a mine off Orkney in 1916.

Our aim is to have this work completed in time for the centenary of the sinking, on Sunday 5 June 2016, when commemorations will take place in Orkney.

Details of how the day will unfold are being worked on, in co-operation with Orkney Islands Council, the British Legion, the Royal Naval Association and HM Armed Forces.

But anyone planning to visit Orkney for that weekend may want to think about accommodation which could be in short supply. Please go to www.visitorkney.com or www.visitscotland.com/orkney – or contact Visit Scotland’s office in Kirkwall, Orkney on +44 (1856) 872856.

Extensive research is being undertaken as part of our project. Already we have discovered many more men died than previously thought. We hope to arrange an exhibition about the loss of HMS Hampshire and a book is planned. If you have family memories or stories that you would like to share, please let us know.

Completion of our project is, of course, subject to sufficient funds being raised through grants and public donation. If you would like to donate please do so at justgiving.com/orkneyheritagesociety/.

Meanwhile, you can follow the progress of the project on Facebook (@Kitchener.Memorial), Twitter (@kitchenerorkney) and through this blog.

Finally, thank you to Moya McDonald, of Another Orkney Production, and to Bryony Dixon, of the British Film Institute, for the recent screening in Orkney’s Pickaquoy Centre of the restored British silent film The Battles Of Coronel And Falkland Islands. This tells the story of two early First World War naval battles with compassion, humour and realism and is fascinating for anyone who is interested in naval history of the period.

If you missed the screening do try and see the film on a big screen. Alternatively, a BFI DVD is available to purchase. There’s more about the film here – http://www.bfi.org.uk/whats-on/bfi-film-releases/battles-coronel-falkland-islands – and, to finish, here is a trailer for the film:

Graham Brown

HMS Hampshire commemorative wall: Arc design selected

The arc design for the HMS Hampshire commemorative wall (image: Leslie Burgher)

A letter from our project chairman Neil Kermode, published in The Orcadian newspaper this week, announces the choice of shape for the HMS Hampshire commemorative wall – an arc. Here is the text of the letter:

“I would like to thank everyone who took part in our consultation about the design for the proposed HMS Hampshire commemorative wall by visiting our display at Birsay Community Hall, completing questionnaires or responding via Facebook and Twitter.

“The plan which received the most votes was the arc shaped wall, and the Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial committee has agreed to proceed with this design.

“We will now seek planning permission to build the wall, a little over a metre high, next to the Kitchener Memorial at Marwick Head. It will carry the names of more than 700 men who died, along with Earl Kitchener, when HMS Hampshire hit a mine and sank just off the coast in June 1916.

“I believe this will be an appropriate way to “better remember” these men as we approach the centenary of their loss.

“For the record, the number of votes cast for different wall shapes were 15 for the arc, 12 for the square wall, and three for the square with a cut-off corner. Two other ideas were also put forward.

“The creation of a commemorative wall is part of the Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial project, organised by Orkney Heritage Society with support from Birsay Heritage Trust. The Kitchener Memorial itself will be restored to its original 1926 condition, retaining its iconic profile.

“The restoration and commemorative wall are to be officially unveiled at events marking the centenary of the sinking on Sunday 5 June 2016, and already a number of relatives of those who died are making plans to visit Orkney for the occasion.

“Finally, thank you to everyone who has already contributed financially towards this project via our fund-raising page justgiving.com/orkneyheritagesociety/.”

Neil Kermode, Chairman, Kitchener & HMS Hampshire Memorial committee, Quarry House, Finstown

Meanwhile, did you catch the BBC Two Scotland two-part documentary, Scotland’s War At Sea? The first part was The Dreadnoughts Of Scapa Flow and part two – which told the story of the sinking of HMS Hampshire – was The Battle Of The U-Boats.

Both programmes, presented by David Hayman, feature shots of Orkney and interviews with Orcadians. There is still time to watch these programmes on BBC iPlayer, as I write, but the clock is ticking: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qy7nq.

And, if you are in Orkney, the classic silent film The Battles of Coronel And Falkland Islands, made in 1927, is showing at the Phoenix Cinema at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall on Friday 8 May. Described as a thrilling reconstruction of two decisive naval battles from the early stages of the First World War, the film has been restored by the British Film Institute.

You can hear Bryony Dixon of the BFI talk about the film on BBC Radio Orkney’s Around Orkney programme for today, Friday 24 April. Her interview starts just before the 24 minutes mark…

https://soundcloud.com/radio-orkney/around-orkney-24th-april-2015.

I will be at the cinema on 8 May, perhaps I’ll see you there.

Graham Brown