Royal Naval Cemetery (once known as Naval and Military Cemetery) is a cemetery on the
Isle of Portland,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, England. The site overlooks
Portland Harbour, and is found below the main entrance to the
Verne Citadel (
HM Prison The Verne). As the name suggests, the graveyard holds deceased servicemen and officers of Portland's
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
which was stationed at the island until 1995. The cemetery holds 140 identified casualties in total to date, and is owned by the
Ministry of Defence. There are other cemeteries designated the "Royal Naval Cemetery" at various other locations associated with the Royal Navy, such as the Royal Naval Cemetery (sometimes also referred to as ''The Glade'') on the island of
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, location of the
Royal Naval Dockyard in the
Imperial fortress British Overseas Territory of
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
(yet other cemeteries have similar designations, such as
Royal Navy Burying Ground, in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
).
The cemetery was first laid out during the 19th century. With the establishment of a naval base at Portland Harbour, and the Verne Citadel fortification, a number of fatalities began to occur. Burials of
World War I (1914–1918) total 65, where 5 remain unidentified. The majority of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(1939–1945) graves are together in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
section, near the Cross of Sacrifice. Of the buried, 10 are unidentified, whilst there are burials for 1 Norwegian Merchant Navy seaman and 12 German airmen. The cemetery remains well looked after to date and features a small amount of newer burials of recently deceased servicemen.
Burials and memorials
Seaman
Jack Foreman Mantle is buried at the cemetery, a Leading Seaman who was killed on 4 July 1940 during a German air raid on HMS ''Foylebank'' which was berthed in Portland's harbour at the time. Although mortally wounded, Mantle manned the starboard 20mm pom-pom gun until he died which earned himself a posthumous
Victoria Cross for his actions. This was only the second occasion that the Victoria Cross has been awarded for action in the United Kingdom.
The victims of the 1957
HMS ''Sidon'' torpedo explosion are found in the cemetery. The event occurred in Portland's harbour with the loss of 13 lives after a faulty torpedo sank the submarine.
See also
*
Canadian war cemeteries
References
External links
*
Index of buried at the Royal Naval Cemetery
{{Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
Cemeteries in Dorset
British military memorials and cemeteries
Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England