HMS Monmouth remembered at St Mary's Priory Church

THE annual service to remember the lives lost on HMS Monmouth at the battle of Coronel in 1914 was held at St Mary’s Priory Church where there is a screen to commemorate HMS Monmouth.

Leading the service was RNA Chaplain Catherine Haynes along with Standards from the Monmouth Branch of the Royal Naval Association - Tony Martin, the Royal British Legion - Caroline Bright, The Royal Engineers- Ian Donald and Carmarthen RNA- Keith Evans.

The last Post and Reveille was played by Monmouth Band member Byron Gudgeon.

A wreath was laid by Darren Roberts )RNA) and Mary Shipton read a poem ‘In Waters Deep’ which honours sailors, naval personnel, and merchant seafarers who lost their lives at sea during wartime

• The Battle of Coronel, fought on November 1, 1914, off the coast of Chile, was a disastrous defeat for the British Royal Navy at the hands of Vice-Admiral Maximilian von Spee’s German East Asia Squadron. At the centre of this tragedy was the armoured cruiser HMS Monmouth.

Commanded by Captain Frank Brandt, Monmouth was an outdated Monmouth-class cruiser, manned largely by inexperienced naval reservists. Tasked with hunting down Spee's modern fleet, Rear-Admiral Christopher Cradock’s squadron was hopelessly outgunned.

As the battle commenced in the rough Pacific waters, Monmouth engaged the sophisticated German armoured cruiser SMS Gneisenau. Silhouetted against the setting sun, the British ships became easy targets. Gneisenau quickly found her range, devastating Monmouth with precise 8.2-inch gunfire. The British cruiser’s 6-inch guns lacked the range and power to retaliate effectively.

Engulfed in flames, heavily listing, and with her steering destroyed, Monmouth drifted out of the main line. Later that evening, the German light cruiser SMS Nürnberg discovered the defenceless, burning hull. Refusing to strike her colours, Monmouth was capsized by a final, close-range bombardment. She sank with all hands, leaving no survivors from her 735-man crew.