HMS Cavalier (Chatham) Trust Ltd
Public Consultation:

(Responses had to be in by 31st August 2001)

Developing a memorial to destroyers
lost during the Second World War.

 

HMS Cavalier
Liverpool April 1945

HMS Cavalier
The Historic Dockyard Chatham 2001

 

May 2001

Introduction

The Royal Navy’s destroyers played a vital role throughout the Second World War. They took part in almost every naval operation, protected the Navy’s capital ships and escorted the convoys that kept Britain’s maritime supply routes open. Large numbers of destroyers were lost during the war, with many sailors killed in action aboard them. By the end of 1942 over 100 vessels had been lost and the final count rose to over 150 by the end of the war in the Far East.

After the war the names of Royal Navy personnel lost at sea in destroyers and for whom there is no known grave were recorded on the three naval divisional memorials at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. No single memorial exists to commemorate either the destroyers or the men lost in them during the conflict.

A key objective of the preservation of HMS Cavalier, the. Royal Navy’s last operational Second World War destroyer is to preserve her as a memorial to those ships and men. In addition, the Trust wishes to provide a specific space either on board or associated with the ship, as a place where people may remember and for the education of future generations.

An independent Memorial Steering Group has been formed to guide the Trust’s thinking on the development of such a memorial. This group, chaired by the Very Revd Edward Shotter, the Dean of Rochester, includes representatives of the Royal Navy, Royal British Legion, Royal Naval Association and a number of other groups.

The purpose of this Consultation Paper is to seek the views of all interested parties on a number of important issues that need to be resolved before deciding the precise location and form of the memorial. All responses will be considered by the Memorial Steering Group in formulating its thinking on the memorial.

 

From Mrs Jane Sharman, CBE,

Chairman of the HMS Cavalier (Chatham) Trust Ltd.

 

May 2001.

 

Dear Friend

I am sure that you will be aware that HMS Cavalier, the Royal Navy 's last operational Second World War destroyer, has now been rescued from the redundant dry dock in which she had lain for several years in Hebburn for preservation at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham.

The HMS Cavalier (Chatham) Trust Ltd was formed to lead the preservation programme and includes members of the HMS Cavalier Association, The Friends of HMS Cavalier Trust and the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. Thanks to the very generous support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the considerable kindness of a large number of private individuals and charitable trusts, the first stage of the project has now been completed and HMS Cavalier's immediate future secured. Much however remains to be done to complete the preservation process and although this work is now underway it is likely to he several years before it will be finished.

One of the main reasons for preserving the ship is to present her as a memorial to the thousands of sailors who lost their lives in destroyers of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. A Memorial Steering Group, under the chairmanship of The Very Revd Edward Shotter, Dean of Rochester, has been formed to help guide this process. The Group includes representatives of the Royal Navy, the Royal Naval Association, the Royal British Legion and the Eighth Destroyer Association.

Both the Trustees and the Memorial Steering Group are very keen to ensure that the views of as wide a number of’ veterans and other interested groups or individuals as possible are taken into consideration at an early stage of this process. Attached is a short consultation paper seeking your views on a number of key issues. Your views on these, and indeed any other matters relating to the memorial, are most welcome.

All views expressed will be considered by the Memorial Steering Group as it develops its thinking and recommendations on the form, content and location of the memorial. Following this, the Group will publish a short report on its conclusions.

Yours sincerely

Jane Sharman

 

 

Key considerations

Location

HMS Cavalier is berthed in No 2 Dry Dock. The only one of the Historic Dockyard’s dry docks large enough to take the ship, it lies at the heart of the site. Historically the dock is also very important being the site of the construction of the Achilles, the first iron-built battleship to he built. in a Royal Dockyard. It is also built on the site of an earlier dock where HMS Victory was built. Today HMS Cavalier forms part of a 'three ship’ visitor attraction at the Historic Dockyard and is visited by many thousands of visitors annually.

The Historic Dockyard is a site of international maritime heritage significance and has recently been placed on the UK government’s tentative list of sites for submission for World Heritage Site status. A designated Conservation Area, most of the site’s buildings and structures are both

Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Listed Historic Buildings. These include the dry docks in which Cavalier is located (Ancient Monument.) and the adjacent buildings and structures.

All alterations to structures or buildings within the site generally therefore require both planning approval from the local authority and Scheduled Monument consent from the Secretary of State for Culture. Media and Sport. In the case of any new structures or buildings it will also be necessary to demonstrate both the clear need for new development and to ensure that they are appropriate to their surroundings in size, form, design and construction. Either or both considerations will need to be taken into account in arriving at final proposals for the memorial.

 

Inter-relationship with other Naval memorials and Naval chapels

There are already a number of memorials and chapels with Naval associations in Chatham. As one of the three Port Divisions of the Royal Navy, Chatham is the location for one of the three main Royal Navy War Memorials managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Royal Naval Barracks Chapel (St George’s) remains a naval memorial centre managed by the Local Authority and the Royal Dockyard Church remains in being within the Historic Dockyard. Notwithstanding this, an option also exists to place a chapel on board the ship itself.

 

Availability of Information

Although the identity of the Royal Navy’s destroyers concerned is known, the compilation of a comprehensive list of men lost in them, or killed in action more generally whilst serving on destroyers has still to be undertaken. This practical issue will influence the content, form and time-scale of all memorial proposals.

 

Costs & Funding

The Trust hopes to be able to secure some £200,000 towards the costs of the memorial project from both funds set aside from the recent appeal and from the next round of funding agreed in principle with the Heritage Lottery Fund. However, if it is decided to pursue the development of a memorial, which significantly exceeds these costs, further fundraising will be required. In these circumstances it will be necessary to strike a proper balance between efforts to raise funds for the memorial and those to raise funds to secure the long-term preservation of HMS Cavalier.

 

Key Issues

The views of all interested parties are sought on a number of key issues. These are:

1. Who should be commemorated?

The Royal Navy lost over 150 destroyers during the Second World War. However further destroyers were lost serving with British Dominion Navies and on British built ships manned largely by Britain’s allies.

While the names of individuals killed in action on board destroyers are known, a consolidated list has still to be compiled.

 

2. What form should the memorial take?

In addition to the preservation of HMS Cavalier herself The Memorial Steering Group would be grateful for views on the method by which the names of the ships or people lost may he commemorated.

There are several options. These include:

  • Written, printed or computerised ‘Roll of Honour’

  • Engraved or inscribed memorial plaque or plaques

  • Work of art, or sculpture

  • Chapel of remembrance

None of these options are necessarily mutually exclusive, although funding considerations will influence the final selection of option(s)

 

3. Where?

HMS Cavalier is being preserved as a memorial to the Royal Navy’s destroyers lost during the Second World War. There are a number of options as to where the ships and people lost during the war may he commemorated. These include:

The Memorial Steering Group welcomes views on these or indeed any other issues related to the development of the memorial. The Memorial Steering Group will consider all submissions received by the date shown below before making its recommendations as to the form, content and location of the memorial.

The relevant statutory authorities, in particular the local planning authority and English Heritage will also he consulted to ensure that any proposals will be acceptable on planning grounds.

 

All responses had to be in writing by 31st August 2001 and were sent to:

The Secretary
The Memorial Steering Group
HMS Cavalier (Chatham) Trust Ltd
Admirals Offices
The Historic Dockyard
Chatham, Kent
ME4 4TZ

 

 

HMS Cavalier

HMS Cavalier was one of 96 War Emergency destroyers ordered between 1940 and 1942. Built at Samuel White’s Cowes yard, Cavalier was launched on 7th April 1944, and was completed in November /944 before joining the Home Fleet. During the early months of 1945 she undertook a number of operations off Norway and in the Arctic and was awarded the Battle Honour ‘Arctic 1945’. By Spring 1945 Cavalier was operating in the Western Atlantic and after the war in Europe ended, she was allocated to the British Pacific Fleet, arriving cit Colombo in time to take part in the final clearing up operations in the East Indies.

Refitted following the war HMS Cavalier returned to active service in 1957 as a unit of the 8th Destroyer Squadron, Far East Fleet. She remained in service until 1972 when she paid off for the last time at Chatham at the end of an eventful 28-year career. In that time she had steamed 564,140 miles, seen action in the Second World War and completed many years of strenuous Cold War and peacekeeping duties.

In 1983 HMS Cavalier became a museum ship first at Southampton and then at Brighton. In December 1998, after a decade on the River Tyne (mostly closed to visitors), Cavalier was acquired by The HMS Cavalier (Chatham) Trust Ltd, established to preserve the ship at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham. The Trust is a registered charity and a subsidiary of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the charitable organization established by government in 1984 to take stewardship of the 80 acre Historic Dockyard following the closure of Chatham Dockyard.

In 1999 the generous support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund enabled a major programme of hull repairs to he undertaken to allow HMS Cavalier to be towed to her new berth at Chatham. Work to secure her long term preservation continues.

HMS Cavalier is now displayed in the largest of the Historic Dockyard’s three dry docks as part of a major ‘three ship attraction’ with HMS Ocelot, an O class submarine, and HMS Gannet, a sloop of the Victorian Navy.