Leslie Burgher  Chartered Architect
 

::  home  ::  contact  ::

Kitchener and HMS Hampshire Memorial

The restoration of the iconic Kitchener Memorial, atop the 100m cliffs at Marwick on the West Coast of Orkney, and the design of a new memorial wall to commemorate 737 people who died on 5 June 1916 when HMS Hampshire struck a mine off Birsay and 9 who died on HM Drifter Laurel Crown a few days later.

Completed for the centenary, it takes the form of a low curving wall of Orkney stone reflecting the stonework of the tower, and is faced internally with black granite slabs, engraved with the names of all those who died. The curved wall reflects the idea of the hull of the ship, which lies 1.5 nautical miles offshore, and creates a small sheltered space on the seaward side of the tower.

Inset into the renewed concrete path around the tower is a kerb which indicates the direction to the wreck recording the position and the distance to it. The wall is also engraved with a poem by Birsay man, Robert Rendall.

The Restoration was carried out by Orkney Heritage Society and the Contractor was Casey Construction.

The monument was rededicated on the centenary of the sinking with a cliff top ceremony whilst HMS Duncan marked the site of the wreck.
More Information