Notes:
The Memorial is situated on Southsea Common overlooking the promenade. After the First World War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent memorial could be provided. An Admiralty committee recommended that the three manning ports in Great Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth - should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. The memorials were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, who had already carried out a considerable amount of work for the Commission, with sculpture by Henry Poole. The Portsmouth Naval Memorial was unveiled by the Duke of York (the future George VI) on 15 October 1924.
(c) Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Memorial photographs:
General view: © Martyn Pattison, and licenced for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
Detail main plinth: © Peter Facey, and licenced for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence