For those who gave all for us.

[paul bristol uk]

[Sailor]

We're putting on a short memorial for the Battle of Jutland this evening.
I was asked if I could assemble some archive film footage for back-projection. It'll be interesting to see how that plays in a village church.

[simonc]

Good for you, Sailor.

[Sailor]

It went well.

Those attending were greeted with a tot of Pusser's Rum and a silent film showed WW1 ships being built, launched and gathered into a fleet.
The story was then told through readings by players acting in character, through to the actual battle and its undecisive outcome. There was a short, non-denominational piece delivered by the vicar.
Finally, we played a slideshow as people dispersed, incorporating shots of each ship and the number of souls lost. Grim reminders, perhaps, alleviated by some period propaganda posters.

In my view, The Battle of Jutland was the story of WW1 in short-hand. No winners. Lives lost. A Waste.
That's wars for you ...

[paul bristol uk]

A waste in deed over 6,000 British sailors dead. The famous quote from Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, He is remembered for his comment at Jutland that "There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today",shows to me a complete lack of care or understnding of the lives lost or the injured. That quote has stayed in my mind for well over sixty years now from "The war to end all wars."

[Sailor]

Over 8,500 men and 25 ships lost in total.
What was wrong with Beatty's 'bloody ships' was that he failed to take advantage of his longer gunnery range.