Portsmouth Naval Memorial has many aspects honouring those who have died in the wars.
On the main obelisk are the following plaques:
'1914-1918
1939-1945
IN HONOUR OF THE NAVY
AND TO THE ABIDING MEMORY
OF THOSE RANKS AND
RATINGS OF THIS PORT WHO LAID DOWN THEIR
LIVES IN THE DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE AND
HAVE NO OTHER GRAVE THAN THE SEA'
'GENERAL ACTIONS
AT SEA
HELIGOLAND
28TH AUGUST 1914
CORONEL
1ST NOVEMBER 1914'
'FALKLAND ISLANDS
8TH DECEMBER 1914
DOGGER BANK
24TH JANUARY 1915
JUTLAND
31ST MAY 1916'
'SINGLE SHIP ACTIONS
HMS CARMANIA
HMAS SYDNEY
HM SHIPS SEVERN & MERSEY
HM SHIPS ACHILLES & DUNDEE
HM SHIPS SWIFT & BROKE S.M.S. CAP TRAFALGAR
14.9.1914
S.M.S. EMDEN
9.11.1914
S.M.S KONIGSBERG
6 & 11.7.1915
S.M.S. LEOPARD
16.3.1917
GERMAN T.B.Ds
21.4.1917'
'ACTIONS WITH ENEMY
LAND FORCES
BELGIAN COAST
DARDANELLES
TSINGTAO
SUEZ-CANAL
ZEEBRUGGE
OSTEND'
In the central section a plaque describes the complete memorial:
'THE PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
This memorial commemorates officers ranks and ratings of this Port who died at sea during the wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Actions in which they fought are recorded in the registers and on the memorial itself.
Similar memorials at Plymouth and Chatham commemorate men and women of those manning ports while merchant seamen who died from enemy action and have no grave but the sea are commemorated in Liverpool and at Tower Hill in London. The names of those who died during the Second World War whilst serving in the Royal Naval Patrol Service or the Fleet Air Arm and whose graves are unknown are respectively on memorials at Lowestoft and at Lee on-the-Solent.
Other memorials, at Halifax and Victoria in Canada, at Auckland in New Zealand, at Bombay in India, at Chittagong in Bangladesh and at Hong Kong commemorate sailors who came from those parts of the Commonwealth while the Newfounland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel in France bears the names of 229 Newfoundland sailors lost at sea during the First World War.
Of the 24,588 men and women whose names are on this monument 9,666 died during the First World War and 14,922 including 75 from Newfoundland who served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. All were buried at sea or were otherwise denied by the fortunes of war, a known and honoured grave.
THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT AND IS MAINTAINED BY
THE COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION
1914-1918 MEMORIAL
ARCHITECT - SIR ROBERT LORIMER
SCULPTOR - HENRY POOLE
1939-1945 EXTENSION
ARCHITECT - SIR EDWARD MAUFE
SCULPTOR - SIR CHARLES WHEELER'
A further inscription reads:
'1914 - 1918
1939 - 1945
ALL THESE WERE HONOURED IN THEIR GENERATIONS
AND WERE THE GLORY OF THEIR TIMES'
Finally inside the memorial shelter:
'THESE RANKS AND RATINGS
DIED ON SHORE BUT HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE'
The following website describes the purpose behind the memorial:visit link