Rayleigh and Wickford MP and Veterans Minister Mark Francois concluded a recent visit to troops in Northern Ireland, by also visiting the light cruiser HMS Caroline, which is the last surviving warship from the Battle of Jutland in World War One.
HMS Caroline, which is now being restored in Belfast where she was built, is the last surviving major warship from the famous Battle of Jutland in 1916, where the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and the German Navy’s High Seas Fleet met in combat off the Danish coast.
Jutland, which is the most famous Naval Battle in the First World War, will see its 100th Anniversary in 2016 and the ship is being restored in order to help provide a focus for that important commemoration. Mark, who has responsibility for military heritage as part of his Ministerial portfolio, was taken on a tour of the ship by officials involved with the project and Alderman Gavin Robinson, the Mayor of Belfast.
Following his visit Mark also visited the recently opened Titanic Museum, which was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and which received over 700,000 visitors in its first year of opening.
Commenting on his visit to Belfast and in particular on the work being undertaken to renovate HMS Caroline, Veterans Minister Mark Francois said:
“As the last surviving major warship from WW1 and a veteran of the epic Battle of Jutland, HMS Caroline is a very important part of our naval heritage. Although perhaps not as well known as HMS Victory, or HMS Warrior - both of which are now moored at Portsmouth - HMS Caroline is nevertheless a significant warship and I was pleased to see that she is being restored in order to form a centrepiece for the commemoration of the Battle of Jutland in 3 years time. The Royal Navy forms an incredibly important part of our nation’s island story and it is one of the reasons that we remain free. It is therefore important that we remember key dates in the Royal Navy’s history, not least the famous Battle of Jutland, which helped to maintain the blockade on Germany’s High Seas Fleet throughout the rest of the First World War.”