Battle of the River Plate Memorial
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Skyecat
N 43° 49.208 W 079° 00.731
17T E 659853 N 4853816
Located in the Town of Ajax, this lakeside memorial is dedicated to the sailors of HMS Ajax, HMS Exeter, HMS Achilles, and the German battleship Admiral Graf von Spee.
Waymark Code: WMCXBB
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 10/22/2011
Views: 7
The Battle of the River Plate was the first Naval Battle of World War II on Dec 13, 1939 following the declaration of war on September 3rd, 1939.
The three cruisers of Her Majesty's Navy (H.M.S. Ajax, H.M.S. Exeter and H.M.S. Achilles were patrolling the south Atlantic off South America when they engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf von Spee. After a heated exchange of fire for 16 hours,H.M.S. Exeter withdrew from the fight due to damage.
Eventually the Admiral Graf von Spee could take no further punishment without completing repairs, and retreated upriver to be granted a reprieve of 72 hours in port to remove wounded and make repairs.
While the three British ships waited offshore, the German ship returned three days late with orders from the German High Command to sink the Admiral Graf von Spee so it did not land in the hands of the enemy.
This memorial commemorates that battle in the town which was named after HMS Ajax. There are specific memorials and remembrances to HMS Ajax, HMS Exeter, HMS Achilles and Admiral Graf von Spee located around the geographic depiction of the battle site, and location of the ships relative to the naval battle.
Upon the 60th Anniversary of the battle, many members of the ships crew from all four ships gathered in Ajax at the invitation of the town and mayor to celebrate peace and remembrance of the dedication of the sailors.
List if there are any visiting hours:
Available 24/7
Entrance fees (if it applies): None
Type of memorial: Plaque
Website pertaining to the memorial: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
*(1.)* Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit.
*(2.)* If you have additional information about the memorial which is not listed in the waymark description, please notify the waymark owner to have it added, and please post the information in your visit log.