Relatives of the British and German commanders at the Battle of Jutland have joined forces to appeal for donations towards a new memorial in Denmark remembering all those killed in the biggest naval clash of the First World War.
“The stones of the Jutland Memorial Park will be one way Jutland descendants can preserve their ancestors’ memory for future generations,” Nick Jellicoe and Reinhard Scheer-Hennings say.
Despite the enormous scale of the battle, the descendants of Admirals Sir John Jellicoe and Reinhard Scheer point out that ‘there is no real, recognised monument’ to the men and ships lost on both sides.
The Jutland Memorial Park is already under construction on the Danish coast at Thyborøn, some of the closest land to the North Sea encounter involving almost 250 warships on May 31st/June 1st 1916.
Twenty-five 3.5 metre-high stone obelisks will mark each of the British and German ships sunk during a struggle that lasted barely 12 hours.
A 26th obelisk will commemorate over 600 fatalities on the other ships that survived the day.
More than 8,000 individual stones, standing 1.2 metres high, will eventually be placed around these massive pillars of remembrance in tribute to all those who perished; a stone for each of the 8,645 victims.
Danish sculptor and artist, Paul Madsen Cerderdorff, has created the designs for both the granite obelisks and the smaller stones for the fallen (Photo courtesy of Paul Madsen Cerderdorff/Jutland 1916.com)
The Jutland Memorial Park itself is the vision of Gert Norman Andersen, marine explorer and founder of the new Danish Sea War Museum at Thyborøn.
Nick Jellicoe and Reinhard Scheer-Hennings say: “It is, in fact, Denmark’s neutrality that gives the Sea War Museum a very special freedom to pass on the story of a great naval conflict without bias or propaganda.
“We ask for your financial support. It can either be at an individual level, paying for one of the 1.2 metre stones for the memory of one of your own family that fell in the battle or it can be for the sponsorship of a ship and its company. Or something in between.
“Reinhard and I, ourselves descendants of two former adversaries who commanded each fleet, hope you join us in this great endeavour. The Sea War Memorial Park will be opened on June 1st 2016. Your contribution can make it the memorial that the fallen of Jutland have always deserved.”
The Jutland Memorial Park is due to open at the Danish Sea War Museum, Thyborøn, June 1st 2016. Visit the Jutland 1916.com website for more information about the project, and how you can contribute – or email contact@jutlandbattlememorial.com to express a direct interest in participating.
Source: Nick Jellicoe and Reinhard Scheer-Hennings/Jutland 1916.com
Images courtesy of Paul Madsen Cerderdorff/Jutland 1916.com
Posted by: CN Editorial Team