The Dover Patrol Memorial Service took place, in this its centenary year, at Leathercote Point, St Margarets-at-Cliffe.  The service was officiated by the Reverend John Lines MBE.  The Reviewing Officer was the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Admiral of The Fleet Lord Boyce KG GCB OBE DL. Representatives from our MP’s office,  Dover District Council, Walmer Parish Council, Deal Town Council and Kent County Council  were all in attendance.  Music was provided by The Snowdon Colliery Brass Band.  Paul Hardy was the branch standard bearer and the wreath was laid by Deal branch member Linda Asher, former Petty Officer and mawren.

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. The Dover Patrol Monument erected on land off Granville Road in Dover, Kent, is a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by those individuals of the Dover Patrol who lost their lives in the First World War. It commemorates the vital role of the Dover Patrol, a discrete fleet of the Royal Navy, in maintaining navigation for Allied shipping across the English Channel and preventing German submarines passing through the Strait of Dover and south of the North Sea during the First World War. It was formed from a wide range of ships, including armed fishing drifters and trawlers, cruisers, submarines, flying boats, aircraft and airships, and suffered high casualties. The Dover Patrol was involved throughout the War in shelling the German lines from the sea and notably in blocking the entrance to the Port of Zeebrugge on the 22nd/23rd April 1918, resulting in six Victoria Crosses and other decorations being awarded. During the war, the Dover Patrol was maintained by the Dover Engineering Works, an iron foundry which employed and housed hundreds of workers in Dover Town. The Dover Patrol was commanded by Admiral Reginald Bacon until he retired on 31 December 1917 when he was succeeded by Vice-Admiral Roger Keyes.

This monument was designed by Sir Aston Webb RA whose works included Admiralty Arch, the Victoria Memorial and the current facade of Buckingham Palace (all on The Mall, London). The first stone was laid by the Duke of Connaught in 1919. The monument was unveiled by the Prince of Wales on 27 July 1921 and is one of three identical monuments designed by Sir Aston Webb to be erected following the First World War ‘in recognition of the key role of The Dover Patrol’. These are at Cap Gris Nez, Sangatte in France and in the John Paul James Park, Brooklyn, New York in USA. All three were built from public subscription.

Photographs Anita Lignum with thanks to Bob Davies for the three photographs of the monument.

Report by Anita Lignum