Memorial

Field Marshal Earl Kitchener and crewmen of HMS Hampshire mine explosion and other tragedy

Setting

Source: Copyright Scottish War Memorials Project

1/21

Current Location

On the cliff top at Marwick Head, Marwick, Orkney, Highlands and Islands, KW17 2ND, Scotland

HY 22668 25175

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Type of Memorial: Composite
WMR Reference Number: 13381
Description: Tower with crenellated top. Battered bartizans with panelled sides at the corners of the battlement, from whose north and south sides project big stone spouts. Dedicatory tablet set into the outside face of the tower. New addition to original memorial: a memorial wall (2016 - to mark the centenary) listing the 746 names of those who died aboard HMS Hampshire with Kitchener plus those lost during subsequent minesweeping operations. The wall is designed with a curvature, a black plaque design with gold lettering.
Inscription: THIS TOWER WAS RAISED/ BY THE PEOPLE OF ORKNEY/ IN MEMORY OF/ FIELD MARSHAL EARL KITCHENER/ OF KHARTOUM/ ON THAT CORNER OF HIS COUNTRY/ WHICH HE SERVED SO FAITHFULLY/ NEAREST TO THE PLACE/ WHERE HE DIED ON DUTY./ HE AND HIS STAFF PERISHED ALONG WITH/ THE OFFICERS AND NEARLY ALL THE MEN OF/ H.M.S. HAMPSHIRE, ON 5TH JUNE 1916

War: First World War (1914-1918)
Number Commemorated: 1
Died: 1
Information shown: surname,rank, date of death,place of death,manner of death,additional
Additional Information: Made to commemorate Kitchener after he died on June 5th 1916 when the cruiser HMS Hampshire struck a mine laid by a German U-Boat.

War: First World War (1914-1918)
Number Commemorated: 746
Died: 746
Information shown: Forename initial and Surname
Order of names: Alphabetical
Additional Information: NOTE: this memorial wall, as an addition to the original Kitchener memorial commemorates 737 who died on HMS Hampshire with Kitchener, INCLUDING 9 crewmen of another vessel (HM Drifter Laurel Crown) killed during minesweeping operations off Orkney.

Maker(s): J M Bakie, Designer
W Liddle, Builder
Maintenance History: 2015-grant of £30,000 from the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund. Project managed by Orkney Heritage Society- faile mortar in the joints raked out, then pointed; also repairs to the hardstanding where cracking mortar was allowing water ingress. The original access to the tower was opened up and a door fitted to match the original-to allow access to the tower base for maintenance. Repair works were undertaken at roof level and the missing lead letters from the inscription were replaced on a like-for-like basis. The metal elements were protected by smartwater