AN ANNUAL service to remember the lives of those who died on board HMS Monmouth when it sank in 1914 at the Battle of Coronel was held last Wednesday (1st November).

The special service, which was led by Reverend David McGladdery, is held every year by the Monmouth branch of the Royal Naval Association (RNA) and took place at St Mary’s Church.

Before the ceremony one of the founding members of the RNA, Derek Jones, was presented with the Legion D’Honneur for his participation in the Normandy Landings.

Derek joined the Royal Navy in 1943 aged 17 and served on landing craft on minor operations for a considerable time. His first operation was on landing craft 929 where he made 13 trips in three months to the beaches of Normandy.

While he was not present on D-Day in 1944, Derek was awarded the Legion D’Honneur on the count of being a Normandy veteran.

After stints on two other crafts, he was discharged from the Royal Navy in 1947.

President of the Monmouth RNA Commodore Toby Elliott OBE DL said it was his pleasure to present the medal on behalf of the RNA and of the French nation.

Other dignitaries at the service included Mayor of Monmouth Councillor Felicity Cotton.

At the Battle of Coronel the British Fleet including HMS Monmouth, was fired upon by the German armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau off the Chilean Coast, HMS Monmouth and HMS Good Hope sank with all hands on board.

The seventh and present HMS Monmouth was launched in 1991.