Tower Hill Memorial

Mercantile Marine Memorial Act 1927 (17 & 18 Geo. 5. c.xxvi). The building work was undertaken by Holloway Brothers (London) and the memorial was unveiled by Queen Mary (deputising for her husband, King George V) on 12 December 1928, her first solo engagement of the sort. The unveiling ceremony was broadcast live on the radio in the queen's first use of the medium. Despite taking place in torrential rain, the unveiling ceremony was attended by a large crowd, who cheered the queen as she was driven away. ^{[1] [14] [15]}

Design

Interior of the colonnade, showing the vaulted ceiling, rusticated walls, and chequerboard-patterned floor

A shelter building at Hooge Crater Cemetery, which Lutyens also designed for the IWGC, has been compared to the Mercantile Marine Memorial.

The main structure is in Portland stone. It takes the form of a vaulted colonnade or pavilion reminiscent of a Doric temple but open at both ends. ^[1] After the Arch of Remembrance in Leicester, it is Lutyens' second-largest war memorial in the United Kingdom, and is the only British First World War memorial dedicated exclusively to merchant seamen. ^{[10] [16]} It is raised on a platform slightly above street level, oriented east to west and accessed from the street by a set of five stone steps at each end. The structure is 21.5 metres (71 feet) long by 7 metres (23 ft) wide and up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall. It consists of three bays on either side, created by eight alternating square piers and six pairs of round columns. The eight piers are clad in rectangular bronze panels to give the impression of rustication. The panels (divided into 24 numbered sections) contain the names of missing mariners, ordered by ship name and then alphabetically following the name of the captain or master. The vessels of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets are listed separately. Above the bays is a Doric entablature. The low, pitched roof has shallow parapets on either side and gabled ends; on top, in the centre, is a large square attic which supports a large stone drum. The attic is similar to Lutyens' original design for the York City War Memorial, which featured a Stone of Remembrance rather than a drum. The sculptural element is the work of William Reid Dick, who worked on several other war memorials, including the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. ^{[1] [17] [9] [18] [19]}

The memorial's main dedication is in bronze letters to the front (south) of the attic: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO THE HONOUR OF TWELVE THOUSAND OF THE MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS WHO HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA; above it are the dates of the First World War (1914–1918), which are also carved into the stone on north side. To either side are decorative bronze wreaths. On the inside, the floor is in black and white stone in a chequerboard pattern. On the north side, bronze spikes occupy the otherwise-open bays. ^{[1] [20] [21]}

The largest single loss of life commemorated on the memorial is from the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on 7 May 1915. Of the 1,200 dead, more than 350 British crew members are commemorated on the Mercantile Marine memorial. ^[22] In total, the First World War memorial records the names of some 12,000 casualties. ^[1]

In his biography of Lutyens, Michael Barker described the design as "dignified classicism"; ^[23] another Lutyens biographer, Christopher Hussey, described it as a "classical shrine". ^[24] Tim Skelton, author of Lutyens and the Great War, notes the similarity of the colonnade to the shelter buildings in Lutyens' cemeteries in France and Belgium and suggests that the memorial would be "equally well at home on the Western Front as in the heart of London". ^[25] The resemblance to the cemetery buildings is also noted by the Dutch architect Jeroen Geurst, who compares it in particular to those at Hooge Crater in Belgium and Serre Road in France. ^[26] In the opinion of the historian David Crane, the memorial never recovered from its "miserable start" and is consequently the least well-known of the IWGC's major works following the First World War. ^[6]

• Plaques bearing the names of the dead from the RMS Lusitania, the largest single loss of life to be commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial
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Second World War memorial

The north side of the colonnade and the entrance to the sunken garden. The bronze "pool and compass" is in the foreground.

The walls at the north end of the sunken garden; the bronze panels contain the names of the dead. Three of Charles Wheeler's sculptures of the Seven Seas are visible.

Background

From the outbreak of the Second World War, shipping losses were again high and a similar convoy system was used in an effort to protect merchant vessels. By the war's end, 4,786 ships had been sunk, with the loss of some 32,000 lives (of which almost 24,000 are commemorated at Tower Hill); almost a quarter of the losses were in British waters. ^[2] Although military casualties were lower in the Second World War than in the First, civilian casualties were higher and there was widespread destruction of British cities. By the end of the second war there was little appetite for another wave of large memorials. Instead, many memorials from the first war were adapted or expanded to commemorate the new casualties—an approach the IWGC took at Tower Hill and elsewhere. Generally, it only built new memorials to the missing in places which had not been touched by the First World War. The IWGC was by this time a much more established and well-respected institution and thus found it easier to obtain the agreements and public support necessary for its work. ^[27]

The architect was Edward Maufe, who began his career designing churches and by the 1950s was the IWGC's principal architect for the United Kingdom for the Second World War commemorations. Maufe was also responsible for the Air Forces Memorial in Surrey and extensions to the Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Chatham naval memorials. ^{[17] [28] [29] [30]}

Tower Hill Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Mercantile Marine Memorial The Merchant Seamen's Memorial
For men and women of the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who died in both World Wars and who have no known grave
Unveiled	12 December 1928 5 November 1955
Location	51°30′35″N0°04′40″W / 51.5097°N 0.0777°W / 51.5097; -0.0777 Trinity Square Gardens London, EC3
Designed by	Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edward Maufe
Commemorated	36,087
First World War TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO THE HONOUR OF TWELVE THOUSAND OF THE MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS WHO HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA Second World War THE TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND OF THE MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS WHOSE NAMES ARE HONOURED ON THE WALLS OF THIS GARDEN GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA
Statistics source: Cemetery details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	The Mercantile Marine First World War Memorial
Designated	27 September 1973
Reference no.	1260087

Merchant Navy Memorial Act 1952
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to confer further powers on the Imperial War Graves Commission with respect to the construction of a memorial at Tower Hill to officers and men of the Merchant Navy who perished in the recent world war and for other purposes.
Citation	15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. xv
Dates
Royal assent	9 July 1952
Text of statute as originally enacted

Following the Second World War, the IWGC considered various sites for a memorial to the new casualties but, after consultation with the relevant public bodies, decided Tower Hill was the most appropriate location. The commission briefed Maufe that the new memorial should complement Lutyens' design and fit in with the existing architecture in the area, including the Port of London Authority building. Maufe first proposed extending Lutyens' structure with a further colonnade, but this was rejected. His next design, for a sunken garden, was accepted. Another act of Parliament was required, which was passed in July 1952 as the Merchant Navy Memorial Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. xv). Work began later in 1952 and was completed in 1955. Some modifications to Maufe's design were necessary. Maufe initially planned a larger grassy area between Lutyens' colonnade and the sunken garden with a Stone of Remembrance at the centre. The stone was eliminated and the grass scaled back to reduce the overall size of the memorial and assuage the concerns of local people. The depth of the garden had to be reduced at the south end because of a London Underground tunnel. ^{[31] [32]}

The memorial commemorates merchant seamen from ships registered in Britain or its Empire or on loan to the governments of those countries, and who were lost at sea as a result of enemy action in the Second World War; it lists 23,765 men, of whom 832 were fishermen and 80 maritime pilots and lighthousemen. The much larger casualty figures and corresponding scale of the memorial reflect the vital contribution of the Merchant Navy to the British war effort in the Second World War. The memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II at a modest ceremony on 5 November 1955, two days before Remembrance Sunday. The ceremony, described by The Sunday Times as "all as modest and anonymous as the Merchant Navy itself", concluded with the sounding of the "Last Post" by buglers from the Royal Marines, answered by a single ship's horn on the River Thames. ^{[31] [32] [33] [34]} After the unveiling, 16,000 relatives of those commemorated on the memorial laid flowers around it, a process which lasted until late in the evening. ^[34]

Design

The Second World War memorial takes the form of a semi-circular sunken garden located behind the First World War Memorial, to its north in Trinity Square Gardens. The idea of a sunken garden appears to have originated from discussions immediately following the end of the war. There was a feeling among the new generation of artists and architects that the elaborate and artistic memorials to the First World War did not capture the national mood of mourning for the new wave of casualties and that spaces such as gardens, which provided a location for individual mourning and reflection, were more suitable. According to the architectural historian Philip Ward-Jackson, Maufe's memorial gives the impression of being a wing of an imaginary ruined church, complete with provided seats—an image which would have had "powerful resonance in the bombed City" (much of the surrounding area, including the Port of London Authority building, was severely damaged by German bombing). ^{[35] [36]} The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described Maufe's extension as "less assertive" than the original memorial; he praised the idea of a memorial to the missing in the form of a void (the sunken garden), but felt it was let down by Wheeler's "strangely jaunty" reliefs between the lists of names. ^[37]

• Sculptures at the entrance to the sunken garden
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  The eastern sentry, a Merchant Navy seaman
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  The two sentries flanking the stone bearing the main dedication
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  The western sentry, a Merchant Navy officer

The ground-level entrance area to the Second World War memorial is on the southern side of the sunken garden and consists of two pylons flanking a low wall that faces the First World War memorial. Built into the low wall is a stone similar to Lutyens' Stone of Remembrance, which is inscribed with the years of the war (1939–1945) and carries the memorial's dedication: THE TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND OF THE MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS WHOSE NAMES ARE HONOURED ON THE WALLS OF THIS GARDEN GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA. Each of the flanking pylons supports an over-life-sized statue, representing a Merchant Navy sailor (on the east side) and officer (on the west). The entrance steps either side of the pylons descend to the sunken garden which contains the name panels. The walls of the garden are eight feet (2.4 m) high in Portland stone, to match the original memorial, with the names of the missing from the Second World War listed on 132 bronze panels fixed to the walls. The name panels circle the entire sunken garden, lining both the northern and the southern walls, and the eastern and western walls. Spaced at regular intervals along the semi-circular (northern) part of the memorial are seven allegorical sculptures representing the Seven Seas. These are the work of Charles Wheeler, who also executed the sculptures for Maufe's extensions of the Royal Navy memorials. The garden is mainly grass, with a sculpture of a compass in a 'pool' of bronze, set to magnetic north, in the centre. The Red Ensign (the flag flown by British-registered civilian vessels) flies over the site. ^{[20] [31] [38] [39] [21]}

• Wheeler's allegorical sculptures representing the Seven Seas
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Later history

The Falklands War memorial was installed next to the world war memorials in 2005.

The Tower Hill memorial commemorates 36,087 seafarers from both world wars. ^[40] Only merchant seamen who have no known grave are listed at Tower Hill. Those whose bodies were recovered or who served with other organisations (such as the Indian Merchant Navy) are commemorated elsewhere—for example, 1,200 merchant seamen who served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War are commemorated on the Liverpool Naval Memorial. ^{[41] [42]} The memorial register for the Mercantile Marine Memorial was originally published by the IWGC in nine volumes in 1928. ^[43] After the Second World War, a three-volume Roll of Honour of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets 1939–1945 was produced in 1958 by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and distributed to a range of organisations in the UK and abroad. ^[44] The first two volumes of this roll of honour contain the names listed on the Merchant Seamen's Memorial at Tower Hill. ^[45] The registers for the Tower Hill memorials are held at the nearby Trinity House on the north side of Trinity Square Gardens. ^[46]

Since 2000, 3 September has been celebrated annually as Merchant Navy Day; a memorial service is held close to that date at the Tower Hill Memorial. ^[47] In 2005, the Merchant Navy Association unveiled another memorial on the site. The work of Gordon Newton, it is dedicated to the Merchant Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary casualties of the 1982 Falklands War. It consists of a 3-metre (9.8-foot) bronze sundial, raised on a granite base; at the dial's centre is a large bronze anchor. Around the base are bronze plaques, one of which contains the inscription IN MEMORY OF THOSE MERCHANT SEAFARERS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES TO SECURE THE FREEDOM OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 1982. The others record the names of the 17 dead, ordered by ship. The Falklands memorial, which is not listed, was unveiled on 4 September 2005 by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (the IWGC having changed its name in 1960). ^{[2] [48]}

Liverpool marked the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, by having twenty-five warships sail through the port to mark the milestone. ^[49] Ceremonies were also held at the Tower Hill Memorial on 11 May 2013, along with other events elsewhere in London and Britain. ^{[50] [a]}

Lutyens' First World War Memorial became a grade II* listed building in 1973. Listed status offers legal protection from demolition or modification; grade II* is reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest" and is applied to about 5.5% of listings. It was upgraded to grade I status (which is applied to around 2.5% of listed buildings, those of "the greatest historic interest") in November 2015 when Lutyens' war memorials were declared a national collection. ^{[1] [52] [53]} Maufe's Merchant Seamen's Memorial has separately been a grade II* listed building since 1998. ^[31] The CWGC began a major restoration project of the colonnade in 2019. ^[54]

See also

• List of ships named on the Tower Hill Memorial
• Grade I listed war memorials in England
• Grade II* listed war memorials in England
• Grade I and II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• List of Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War I memorials to the missing
• List of Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War II memorials to the missing

Footnotes

1. According to The Times , a further service was planned for 17 October 2017, organised by several maritime organisations and due to be attended by 400 people, including foreign diplomats and Anne, Princess Royal, to mark 100 years since the introduction of the convoy system. The service was cancelled at short notice as the organisers were unable to obtain permission for a road closure which was required for the event. ^[51]

References

Bibliography

• Amery, Colin; et al. (1981). Lutyens: The Work of the English Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. London: Arts Council of Great Britain. ISBN   9780728703032.
• Barker, Michael (2005). Sir Edwin Lutyens. Oxford: Shire Publications. ISBN   9780747805823.
• Boorman, Derek (1995). For Your Tomorrow: British Second World War Memorials. York: The Ebor Press. ISBN   9780951365410.
• Boorman, Derek (2005). A Century of Remembrance: One Hundred Outstanding British War Memorials. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN   9781844153169.
• Borg, Alan (1991). War Memorials: From Antiquity to the Present. London: Leo Cooper. ISBN   9780850523638.
• Corke, Jim (2005). War Memorials in Britain. Oxford: Shire Publications. ISBN   9780747806264.
• Crane, David (2013). Empires of the Dead: How One Man's Vision Led to the Creation of WWI's War Graves. London: William Collins. ISBN   9780007456659.
• Geurst, Jeroen (2010). Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. ISBN   9789064507151.
• Hussey, Christopher (1989). The Life of Sir Edwin Lutyens (Reprinted ed.). Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Antique Collectors' Club (first published 1950 by Country Life). ISBN   9780907462590.
• Longworth, Philip (2010). The Unending Vigil: The History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Military. ISBN   9781848844230.
• Lutyens, Mary (1980). Edwin Lutyens by his Daughter. London: John Murray. ISBN   9780719537776.
• Matthews, Peter (2012). London's Statues and Monuments. Oxford: Shire Publications. ISBN   9780747807988.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Bradley, Simon (2002). London 1: The City of London. The Buildings of England. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN   9780300096248.
• Quinlan, Mark (2005). British War Memorials. Hereford: Authors Online. ISBN   9780755201860.
• Ridley, Jane (2003). Edwin Lutyens: His Life, His Wife, His Work (Pimlico ed.). London: Pimlico. ISBN   9780712668224.
• Saunders, David (1996). Britain's Maritime Memorials and Mementoes. Sparkford, Somerset: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   9781852604660.
• Skelton, Tim; Gliddon, Gerald (2008). Lutyens and the Great War. London: Frances Lincoln Publishers. ISBN   9780711228788.
• Summers, Julie (2007). Remembered: The History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. London: Merrell Publishers. ISBN   9781858943749.
• Summers, Julie (2010). British and Commonwealth War Cemeteries. Oxford: Shire Publications. ISBN   9780747807896.
• Ward, G. Kingsley; Gibson, Edwin (1989). Courage Remembered. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN   9780771087868.
• Ward-Jackson, Philip (2003). Public Sculpture of the City of London. Public Sculpture of Britain. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN   9780853239772.

Citations

1. Historic England. "The Mercantile Marine First World War Memorial (1260087)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
2. "Tower Hill Memorial: History". Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Retrieved 2 May 2018.
3. Stamp, Gavin. "Lutyens, Sir Edwin Landseer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34638.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
4. Lutyens, p. 153.
5. Summers (2010), p. 39, 45.
6. Crane, p. 198.
7. Longworth, p. 97.
8. Ridley, pp. 348–349.
9. Ward-Jackson, p. 410.
10. Skelton, p. 94.
11. Amery, p. 154.
12. Pevsner, p. 610.
13. Longworth, pp. 98–99.
14. Ward-Jackson, p. 411.
15. Skelton, p. 95.
16. Ward, p. 167
17. "Tower Hill Memorial: Design". Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Retrieved 1 May 2018.
18. Saunders, p. 78.
19. Crellin, Sarah. "Dick, Sir William Reid". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32813.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
20. Boorman (2005), p. 182
21. "Merchant Navy". War Memorials Register . Imperial War Museums . Retrieved 5 May 2018.
22. "The Tower Hill Memorial". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
23. Barker, p. 41.
24. Hussey, p. 474.
25. Skelton, p. 172.
26. Geurst, pp. 56, 92.
27. Longworth, pp. 194–195.
28. Corke, pp. 45–46.
29. "Maufe [formerly Muff], Sir Edward Brantwood". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31429.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
30. Borg, pp. 82–83.
31. Historic England. "Merchant Seamen's Memorial (1031597)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
32. Ward-Jackson, p. 412.
33. Summers (2010), p. 45.
34. Quinlan, p. 219.
35. Ward-Jackson, p. 414.
36. Boorman (1995), p. 72.
37. Pevsner, p. 611.
38. Matthews, p. 92.
39. Crellin, Sarah. "Wheeler, Sir Charles Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31824.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
40. "Tower Hill Memorial". Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Retrieved 2 May 2018.
41. Summers (2007), p. 24.
42. Longworth, p. 195
43. Register of the Mercantile Marine memorial, Tower Hill, London, compiled ... by order of the Imperial War Graves Commission. Imperial War Graves Commission. 1928. Retrieved 26 May 2018– via National Library of Australia.
44. "M.N. Roll of Honour". The Nautical Magazine . 179: 235. 1958.
45. "One Hundred and First Annual Report". Annual Report of the Mercantile Marine Service Association. 101: 2. 1958.
46. "Tower Hill Memorial: Visit". Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Retrieved 27 May 2018.
47. Quinlan, p. 218.
48. "Merchant Navy Falklands". War Memorials Register . Imperial War Museums . Retrieved 5 May 2018.
49. "Battle of the Atlantic: Liverpool marks 70th anniversary". BBC News. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
50. "UK remembers Battle of the Atlantic 70 years on". BBC News . 8 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
51. Brown, David (6 October 2017). "Merchant navy service is sunk by London council's refusal to waive red tape". The Times . Retrieved 19 July 2018.(subscription required)
52. "The Listing and Grading of War Memorials". Historic England. July 2015. p. 2. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
53. "National Collection of Lutyens' War Memorials Listed". Historic England. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
54. "London's Hidden Gem War Memorial to be Restored". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 March 2022.

External links

• Tower Hill: 'Lest we forget' (includes an index of all the ships named on the memorial)
• Queen Mary unveils Mercantile Marine Memorial [12 December 1928] (British Pathé news reel)
• Queen Elizabeth II unveils Merchant Navy Memorial: clip 1 clip 2 [5 November 1955] (British Pathé news reels)