Submariners' Memorial

Summary

An obelisk memorial of 1904 to a submarine disaster, with later inscriptions to three subsequent submarine tragedies.

Reasons for Designation

The memorial to HM Submarines A1, A3, A5 and A8 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: for the insight it provides into the perilous occupation of the naval submariner, commemorating a great number of accidental deaths;
* Artistic value: a very well-composed and well-executed memorial built from rich materials;
* Group value: for its place in the Royal Naval Cemetery and its relationship with the other listed memorials and the cemetery chapel, and within the wider naval landscapes of Haslar, Gosport and Portsmouth.

History

The memorial commemorates four disasters to A-Class submarines that occurred between 1904 and 1912. The A-Class was the first series of Royal Naval submarines that were designed and built in England, by Vickers of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria (the part of Lancashire).

The first of these, for which the memorial was erected, was the HM Submarine A1, built in 1902. In 1904 she foundered as the result of a collision with SS Berwick Castle during exercises; all 11 of her crew were drowned. The submarine was recovered soon after and used for training and experimental work in anti-submarine warfare. She sunk for a second time in 1911 and was never recovered. Her remains are designated as a Protected Wreck (National Heritage List for England ref 1000043).

The HM Submarine A5 was in service for only a few days before suffering an internal petrol explosion that killed six of her crew whilst moored to the HMS Hazard at Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland. Following repair she was used for training, and was broken up in 1920 at Portsmouth.

On 8 June 1905 HM Submarine A8 was running on the surface off Plymouth when she was accidentally sunk; a sudden dip in the bow of the boat caused the conning tower to drop and be flooded, resulting in the loss of 15 crew. A loose rivet was found to be the cause of the accident, and the A8 was repaired and recommissioned and was used as a training vessel during the First World War. She was broken up in 1920 at Dartmouth.

The HM Submarine A3 was accidentally rammed by HMS Hazard whilst surfacing near the Isle of Wight; all 14 crew on board were drowned. The vessel was recovered and in the same year was re-sunk off Portland Bill for use as a gunnery target.

Details

An obelisk memorial to a submarine disaster, 1904, with later inscriptions to three subsequent submarine tragedies.

MATERIALS and PLAN: it is built from dressed Portland stone and stands on a square stone base.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is in the form of an obelisk. It has a slightly tapered pedestal upon which are the inscriptions in applied metal lettering. A moulded cornice with reeding, filleting and chamfering forms the junction with the shaft, and below is a dressed and chamfered plinth.

The four faces of the monument are inscribed thus:

‘THIS OBELISK HAS / BEEN ERECTED IN MEMORY OF THOSE / OFFICERS AND MEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES / IN HM SUBMARINE A1 / ON THE OCCASION OF HER FOUNDERING / AFTER COLLISION ON 18TH MARCH 1904 / OFF THE NAB LIGHT VESSEL’ followed by the names of 11 officers and crew ordered by rank.

‘ALSO IN MEMORY OF / THOSE OFFICERS AND MEN / WHO WERE KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION / ON BOARD HM SUBMARINE A5 / AT QUEENSTOWN 16TH FEBRUARY 1905’ followed by the names of six officers and crew ordered by rank.

‘ALSO IN MEMORY OF / THOSE OFFICERS AND MEN WHO LOST THEIR / LIVES IN HM SUBMARINE A8, WHICH / ACCIDENTALLY FOUNDERED OFF PLYMOUTH / ON 8TH JUNE 1905’ followed by the names of the 15 officers and crew ordered by rank.

‘ALSO IN MEMORY OF THE / OFFICERS AND MEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES / IN HM SUBMARINE BOAT A3 / WHICH FOUNDERED AFTER COLLISION / OFF THE ISLE OF WIGHT / FEBRUARY 2ND 1912’ followed by the names of 14 officers and crew ordered by rank.

Sources

Websites
Clayhall Cemetery, Haslar Heritage Group, accessed 5/3/2015 from http://www.haslarheritagegroup.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49:clayhall-cemetery&catid=20:the-buildings-of-haslar&Itemid=109
Royal Navy Submarine Museum, ‘Submarine losses 1905 to present day’, accessed 16/03/2015 from https://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=1
National Heritage List for England: List Entry HMS/mA1 ref 1000043, accessed 16/06/2015 from http://list.historicengland.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1000043

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