Commemoration

The Royal Marines beat the retreat at the end of a special day.
On 22 September 1914, 100 years ago today, three Royal Navy cruisers were torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk off the Dutch coast. Over 1400 men were drowned but my grandfather was one of the fortunate few who were picked up by a Dutch vessel and rescued. All three ships were based at Chatham, so the loss had a great impact on the town. The names of the ships were HMS Aboukir, HMS Cressy and HMS Hogue, my grandfather's ship.
Today The Historic Dockyard held a commemorative service to remember the incident and to mark the lives lost. As descendents of a sailor involved, I, my sister and two cousins were able to attend the service with our partners.
The service was very well supported and took place in the vast No 5 slipway. It was attended by The Duke of Kent, and many other dignitaries. The music came from the Royal Marines. A plaque was unveiled, poppy petals fell, and a wreath was presented to the Mayor of The Hague to commemorate the link between the two towns after the Dutch played such an important role in the rescue. It was a very moving service.
Late in the afternoon in the fading sun the Royal Marines performed a Beating Retreat. They were a splendid sight with the instruments gleaming in the afternoon sun. The flag was lowered to the notes of "Sunset" as all in uniform stood to attention and saluted. Splendid!