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Veterans and today’s Navy celebrate the centenary of Britain’s greatest battleship HMS Warspite
27 November 2013
More than 200 people gathered on the slipway in Devonport Naval Base where the Royal Navy’s greatest battleship was built – 100 years to the day HMS Warspite was launched.
The ship saw action in almost every major action the RN fought in the two World Wars – from Jutland to D-Day – earning more battle honours than any other individual vessel in the history of the Senior Service.THE centenary of the launch of what many consider to be the greatest British warship ever built was honoured at a service of celebration and thanksgiving in her birthplace of Plymouth.
No individual ship in Royal Navy history saw more action – and earned more battle honours – than battleship HMS Warspite.
Over a 30-year career spanning both World Wars, the Plymouth-built castle of steel fought in almost every one of the RN’s key actions: the titanic clash with the German Fleet at Jutland in 1916, the destruction of the German destroyer force at Narvik in 1940, the mauling of the Italians at Matapan, the invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy, the pounding of enemy defences in Normandy on D-Day and finally supporting the Royal Marines storming ashore at Walcheren in the autumn of 1944.To celebrate those achievements, more than 200 guests gathered at No.3 Slipway in HM Naval Base Devonport – where Warspite was built – in a ceremony designed to mirror the super dreadnought’s launch on November 26 1913 (an event attended by 30,000 people, including Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty).
Among those attending the centennial celebration, Warspite veteran Tony Elliott, who lives in Weston Mill in Plymouth.Warspite"s guns hammer away at Axis defences on Sicily in July 1943. Picture: Imperial War Museum
“We have kept the name of Warspite alive all these years through the Warspite Association and held reunions of those who served in her and other ships and submarines that bore her name later. There aren’t many of my crowd left. But I am appreciated when I come to Warspite Association events and have become a standard bearer for her.’’
RN chaplain Rev Bill Gates led the memorial service with a recital by Burraton Male Voice Choir and music from HMS Drake Volunteer Band. The highlight for many attendees was the unveiling of a new scale model of the battleship.
Alan Jones, HMS Warspite Association committee member, served as a chief stoker in the most recent vessel to bear the name, the hunter-killer nuclear submarine.Cdre Graeme Little, Devonport Naval Base Commander, tells guests about Warspite"s importance to the Navy and nation
“This is a celebration of the Navy today and in the past, the shipbuilding skills of Plymouth, the ship and her four sister ships, and the Cold War submarine that bore the same name,” he said.
“This is a mark of our appreciation of the shipbuilders’ skills and the sailors who served in the battleship Warspite during three decades of distinguished service in war and peace.
“The battleship is not only of great significance to Plymouth, but also to our nation’s history. This is an occasion befitting a mighty warship of historical significance.”A blast from Warspite"s forward 15in turrets during gunnery practice
Although mostly associated with Plymouth, the battleship was based in Portsmouth from the 1930s – and manned by sailors of the Chatham Division.
Plymouth naval historian and the chronicler of Warpsite’s inspiring story Iain Ballantyne said the ship and her four sisters – Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Barham and Malaya – were the most potent battleships fielded by any navy in the Great War and were “the backbone of the Royal Navy through some of the darkest days of World War 2”.Warspite aground at Prussia Cove in Mounts Bay in 1947. Picture: Imperial War Museum
He continued: “Warspite’s amazing life is also the story of a Navy and a nation, for she was created and launched when Britain was at the zenith of its imperial power and she last saw action when the empire was in decline.
“The Warspite turned out to be a tremendous success – a remarkable vessel.”
Even when she was paid off at the war’s end Warspite proved defiant. While being towed to the breaker’s yard she ran aground on rocks at Prussia Cove in Cornwall – where she remained for three years – before she was beached at nearby Marazion and broken up in the 1950s.
Veterans and today’s Navy celebrate the centenary of Britain’s greatest battleship...