Monday, 8 December will be the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Falklands, during which HMS Kent, an armoured cruiser, sank the German light cruiser SMS Nürnberg. During the battle, HMS Kent was hit by 38 shells, causing serious damage and killing eight men. Despite this, she attempted to rescue men from the sinking Nürnberg. Sadly, she was only able to save five of the 332 crew.
There is a memorial in the Cathedral to the men of HMS Kent who lost their lives during the battle. The ship’s flags were laid up in the Cathedral in 1916, but were damaged during WWII, and no longer survive. Adrian Beaumont, Cathedral Guide, has written a fascinating story of HMS Kent and its service in WWI. This booklet is available at the Cathedral Archives and also online here. During his research, Adrian consulted papers of individual members of the crew, and the records maintained by the Captain of the ship, J D Allen. His booklet contains many quotations and is fully illustrated, and makes very moving reading.
To mark the anniversary, there will be an exhibition in the reading room of the Archives, on display on Saturday 6 December, 10:00 – 12:00, and Monday 8 December, 14:00 – 16:00.
Please contact the Archives to book a time to view it. The display will include items from the collection of papers and memorabilia of Captain Allen, captain of HMS Kent, and of Jack Charlton, one of the naval officers of the ship. Also featured will be items from the collections of the Cathedral and of The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury.