Replacement Plaque Commemorates First World War Tragedy
The Royal Naval Association has presented the Drill Hall Library at the Universities at Medway with a plaque marking the locations where two bombs, dropped by a German Gotha bomber during the First World War, came through the roof of the building.
On the evening of September 3, 1917 it was the Drill Shed at HMS Pembroke Naval Barracks and the bombs killed more than 130 naval ratings that were sleeping in the building.
The ceremony in the Drill Hall Library, which is jointly owned and operated by the universities of Greenwich and Kent, was attended by veterans and standard bearers from the Royal Naval Association. The plaque was unveiled by the Chairman of the Chatham branch of the Royal Naval Association, John Wigley.
Professor Alan Reed, representing the Universities at Medway, who organised the event, said: 'The Universities thank the Chatham Branch of the Royal Naval Association for its generosity in providing a replica of the original plaque that marked to precise location of the cause of the tragedy nearly 90 years ago. The plaque complements the memorial stone we unveiled at the entrance to the library last year, and it is fitting that a piece a Chatham naval history has been restored to its rightful place'.
The unveiling was followed by a short service of rededication, led by Deacon Alan Boxall, and was attended by members of the Chatham Branch, RNA and university staff.
Notes for Editors
1. A photo is available on request from the Press Office.
2. The new plaque replaces one which was housed inside the Drill Hall which has unfortunately gone missing in the two decades between the Royal Navy departing the site and the universities of Greenwich and Kent taking possession of the building.
3. The text of the plaque reads: The granite tablets denote positions where two enemy bombs were dropped on night of Sept 3rd 1917 whereby 135 lives were lost.
4. The Universities at Medway is a partnership of the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and Mid-Kent College at a shared campus at Chatham Maritime.
For more information or images contact:
Nick Davison
University of Greenwich Press Office
020 8331 8092
n.a.p.davison@gre.ac.uk
Nick Ellwood
Marketing and Communications Officer
University of Kent at Medway
01634 888879
N.J.Ellwood@kent.ac.uk