Kitchener Memorial
Monumental tower in Birsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kitchener Memorial is a 48 ft tower war memorial in Birsay, Orkney Islands, erected after the sinking of British cruiser HMS Hampshire.[1]
| Kitchener Memorial | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| |
 | |
| For Lord Kitchener and servicemen killed onboard HMS Hampshire in 1916 | |
| Unveiled | 2 July 1926 |
| Location | 59.106267°N 3.352096°W Marwick Head, Orkney, Scotland |
| Designed by | People of Orkney |
History
In June 1916, cruiser HMS Hampshire was on her way to Russia on a diplomatic mission, by orders of Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, field marshal of the British Army. While passing Birsay, Hampshire struck a mine laid by Germany U-Boat U-75 at 19:40 on 5 June, sinking her, with a loss of 737 on board, including Lord Kitchener. There were only 12 survivors.[2] After the First World War, the people of Orkney raised funds to construct a monument to honour Kitchener, and the other crew members onboard Hampshire who were lost that evening. The monument was named Kitchener Memorial, and was officially unveiled on 2 July 1926.[3]
On 5 June 2016, 100 years after the sinking of Hampshire, a commemorative wall was unveiled at the base of the tower with the names of all servicemen lost in the disaster inscribed along it.[4]
In 2020, the Kitchener Memorial was listed as one of the targets during the 'Topple the Racists' protests, however it was never touched.[5]