Britain’s Royal Navy Museum has launched a digital project to map stories of sailors who fought at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
Following responses from descendants of Admirals Beatty and Jellicoe amongst others, the museum is calling on the public to share stories of those connected with the battle.
The platform has been made live for the exhibition ’36 Hours: Jutland 1916, The Battle that Won the War’ which opens at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on May 12th 2016.
NMRN says the interactive map will ‘convey the human story of Jutland, highlighting its scale and significance to the First World War, by demonstrating the involvement of people from all over the British Isles and further afield’.
Screenshots of the digital project – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN)
The project launched with over 6,000 entries from across the UK, already showing the national impact of The Battle of Jutland. To provide a comprehensive record the museum is calling on members of the public to share more information.
Nicholas Beatty, grandson of Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty said: “I am delighted to add my grandfather’s story to the Jutland Interactive Map, and am sure that the legacy of his and his brave fellow seamen will continue to live on and be better understood by current and future generations.
“I thoroughly recommend that all descendants whose relatives fought at Jutland do the same to ensure that those who fought to maintain our naval supremacy and retain the lines of supply to the United Kingdom, all giving so much, are never forgotten.”
All data is mapped and linked geographically providing a clear picture of those involved, where they served and where they came from.
Nick Jellicoe, grandson of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the British Grand Fleet, said: “This is one of those moments where engaging with the interactive map and what the museum is providing is a real opportunity to fill in some parts of a jigsaw, a family jigsaw you’ve never been able to solve.
“It’s nice to think about stories from your father, grand-father or great-grandfather, and be able to pass them on. Always one of my biggest regrets is that I never talked to my father more in detail about his father. I never did, and I hope other people don’t make the same mistake.”
NMRN’s Jutland interactive map, and further information about the project, can be found here.
Read more about NMRN’s exhibition ’36 Hours: Jutland 1916, The Battle that Won the War’ here in Centenary News.
Source: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Images courtesy of NMRN
Posted by: Ellie Stephenson, Centenary News