Tour Scotland Travel Video Kitchener Memorial Marwick Head Orkney Islands

Tour Scotland travel Blog video of the Kitchener Memorial at Marwick Head on ancestry visit to the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The memorial was erected after the First World War to commemorate Lord Kitchener and the crew of H.M.S. Hampshire, which was sunk off here on June 5, 1916 with the loss of all but 12 of her company. Sailing alone in heavy seas, Hampshire was approximately 1.5 miles off the mainland of Orkney between Brough of Birsay and Marwick Head at 19:40 on 5 June when an explosion occurred and she heeled to starboard. She had struck one of several mines laid by the German minelaying submarine U-75 on just before the Battle of Jutland. The detonation had holed the cruiser between bows and bridge, and the lifeboats were smashed against the side of the ship by the heavy seas when they were lowered. About 15 minutes after the explosion, Hampshire sank by the bow. Of the 735 crewmembers and 14 passengers aboard, only 12 crew survived after coming ashore on three Carley floats. A total of 737 were lost including Kitchener and all the members of a mission to Russia.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.