Project Vernon
The Minewarfare & Diving Monument
Project Vernon is the charity responsible for erecting the monument at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth to celebrate the heritage of HMS VERNON, which previously occupied the site, and honour those involved in mine warfare, diving and bomb & mine disposal - past, present and future. It is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers.
Original ceremony cancelled owing to Coronavirus...
On 14 March, it was reluctantly decided to cancel the originally elaborate unveiling ceremony for the Vernon Mine Warfare & Diving Monument at Gunwharf Quays (GWQ) in Portsmouth. This was long planned for Wednesday 25 March and the invitation list for over 800 guests was compiled with much effort and deft determination by former WO(MW) Dixie Dean MBE and Capt Grenville Johnson MBE RN.
As you will be aware, the risk to health from Coronavirus had increased dramatically and the Project, like GWQ, is risk averse. In short there was no point in risking the life of even one of our supporters or our management team or those in GWQ in the face of the undoubtedly increasing threat of COVID-19. It was also taken into account that a high percentage of the 800 invited to attend the ceremony fell into the definition of "Vulnerable" where the virus is concerned.
Events since this decision have only served to confirm its wisdom.
...but a lower key event was still possible (just!)
In the meantime, it was still possible to install the monument on Tuesday 17 March (but probably not for much longer) and it is intended to organise a "Dedication Ceremony" when the risk to health has subsided and circumstances are much more favourable. It might even be next year before it is safe to celebrate together in a more appropriate manner. However the Project Manager proposed to the trustees that we try to conduct an unveiling of the monument and still with a Guest of Honour if we achieved getting the monument in place on 17 March. The concern was that if we didn't do something we would not be allowed to leave it covered. Clearly neither we nor GWQ would wish to leave it in that state.
Installation
On Monday 16 March, the installation sub-committee comprising Lt John 'George' Turnbull RN, Maj Les Rutherford RE and Cdr David Sandiford went into Pool B to set up positioning marks for the monument so that it would be a simpler job to install it the following day. At 0715 on a bright sunny Tuesday morning, the monument created by eminent sculptor Mark Richards FRSS arrived on a low loader trailer at Gunwharf Quays, the former site of HMS VERNON in Portsmouth. Owing to the light traffic, the journey from the Morris Singer Foundry at Lasham had taken much less time than expected.
Much of the rest of the day was spent anchoring the monument's supporting framework to the bottom of Pool B, mounting the sculpture on top and then waiting for the newly cleaned pool to fill with sea water. Many thanks to sculptor Mark Richards, the team from the Morris Singer Foundry and the hauliers ably assisted by Project supporter Cdr John Ling and Gunwharf Quays operations manager Mike Coulter and his team which included the late CPO(D) Colin 'Icy' Coldwell’s grandson Lee Davey, plus their helpers, for ensuring things went smoothly.
Thanks are due to project supporter James Dougill of Arc Sound, himself a former Ton class minesweeper man and a Greenie in HMS VERNON, for providing live video streams of the day's events, including interviews with some of the key players, via the Project Vernon Facebook group and watched around the world. They can still be accessed and seen by anyone who missed them at:
The unveiling
After being introduced by Cdr David Sandiford (the Vernon Monument's Project Manager), Cdre Jeremy Bailey, (Commander of Portsmouth Naval Base) said a few words before cutting the ribbon to unveil the monument in a deliberately low-key ceremony.
This is the text of Cdre Bailey's speech.
“David, thank you very much indeed.
We are, I think, in unprecedented times and not what we imagined this event was going to be like but how very good to see all of you here in Gunwharf Quays today for the unveiling of this Vernon Mine Warfare & Diving Monument.
Most of you know that HMS VERNON stood on the site where you now are and was the home of RN underwater warfare training, trials and operations.
As I was saying to David just as we were walking up here, it was also home to my school CCF sailing section and I sailed from the waters behind before it was converted into the fantastic Gunwharf Quays facilities that exist today.
The Monument I am about to unveil will commemorate all those who served here in HMS VERNON, ashore and afloat – but especially those involved in Royal Navy mine warfare and diving, past and present.
That the Monument is here at all is a very significant achievement by the many individuals and organisations that have donated generously and raised the necessary funding for the monument. To those who have given so unstintingly of their time and effort over the past 12 years, very many thanks and, as we would say in the Royal Navy, BZ from us all.
Although Royal Navy Mine Warfare and Divers have now gone from this site, they remain at the centre of Naval operations. Mine Warfare training is now conducted at HMS COLLINGWOOD in Fareham, the Fleet Diving Group and the Defence Diving School are at Horsea Island here in Portsmouth, and the 2nd Mine Countermeasures Squadron of Hunt class ships are home-based here in Portsmouth Naval Base; plus I should probably mention the Diving and MCM capabilities the Naval Bases at Plymouth and Faslane also hold.
But why is mine warfare still at the centre of naval operations?
Naval sea mines were first used in the sixth century and the fact is that they have been used in most maritime conflicts ever since.
In particular, we need to remember the vast amount of shipping and lives lost through mining in the two World Wars.
And today there is still a mine disposal task to be done, either sorting out the legacy issues or making sure that our freedom of navigation on the high seas can be sustained now and into the future.
This has never been a trivial undertaking – and never will be. In fact, the first naval gallantry awards in World War II were made not 50 yards from this spot in 1939, to Lieutenant Commanders Ouvry and Lewis (DSO), Chief Petty Officer Baldwin and Able Seaman Vearncombe (DSM) who between them had rendered safe and recovered the first two German magnetic mines from the mudflats of Shoeburyness. King George VI paid them the significant compliment of visiting HMS Vernon here to invest them in front of the entire ship’s company.
Many of the personnel who were involved in bomb and mine disposal and in the minesweepers at sea in World War II were from overseas including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands. Many were Reservists. Some were killed and all were gallant. Those nations who are not perhaps represented here today have also contributed to the cost of the Monument and they deserve our gratitude and this Monument represents their efforts. They are particularly in our thoughts.
On almost every day of every year since World War II, Royal Navy mine warfare personnel and divers have carried on dangerous work underwater and ashore, in war and in peace, in home waters and around the world.
In the two world wars, over one million mines were laid and by the end of World War II, about one third of those were unaccounted for but are still being found today. On average, twelve WWII mines are dealt with by Royal Navy Mine Countermeasures Vessels and Diving Units every year.
As I speak to you now there are minesweepers and mine hunters with diving teams embarked in the Gulf, the NE Atlantic, around the UK, in the Mediterranean and operating with NATO. A Diving Unit is at immediate notice to move, just up the road at Horsea Island.
And of course much closer to home, in 2018 and 2019, as we were preparing the harbour for the operation of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, Royal Navy mine warfare ships and diving teams located and removed some 46 tonnes of explosive ordnance from the seabed, in sight of Gunwharf Quays, very close to where we are now.
So, altogether, this is a branch which is absolutely relevant to today’s maritime operations.
To mine warfare men and women past and present, I should like to thank you all wholeheartedly for your dedicated service, sometimes given in extreme circumstances where your life was put on the line for your country, and for your shipmates. I’m extremely proud to be among you today, both here and online.
This monument is yours. It honours you, your forebears and your successors yet to come and it is now my huge privilege to unveil the Vernon Mine Warfare & Diving Monument.”
The physical unveiling was performed by members of the Portsmouth-based Fleet Diving Squadron comprising CPO(D) Alex Newnes, LS(D) Michael ‘Dolly’ Parton, AB(D)s Adam Leonard, Connor Whiting, Daniel Mulholland, Thomas Waterhouse and AB(MW) Charles Wood.
Aftermath
Celebratory drinks were then enjoyed in the Old Customs House pub, formerly the Captain's offices in HMS VERNON.
The following day, information boards were mounted each side of Pool B in which the monument 'floats'. Many thanks to Cdr Geoff Goodwin, the staff of Southsea-based Starfish Creative Design and Gunwharf Quays for their production and display.
The information boards provide access to the new Vernon Link website, specially created to describe and illustrate what the Vernon Monument symbolises. Many thanks to Cdr Geoff Goodwin, Lt Cdr Martyn Holloway, the University of Portsmouth and a host of other contributors involved in its production. There is a lot to see and read so have a good look around it. Click on the drop-down menus at the top of the page for lists of sections:
Vernon Link - Linking Gunwharf Quays with HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy, Mine Warfare and Diving
Many favourable reactions
Public reaction to the monument has been overwhelmingly positive in social media. Press coverage includes the following articles but please note that contrary to some reports, the sculpture is a monument, not a memorial:
Portsmouth News: Amazing new statue honouring Royal Navy sailors unveiled at Portsmouth's Gunwharf Quays
Royal Navy: Divers and Mine Warfare Memorial Unveiled in Portsmouth
UK Defence Journal: Vernon Mine Warfare and Diving Monument Unveiled
Gunwharf Quays: Vernon Monument
Thank you but keep the pennies rolling in
A big thank you to all our volunteer staff and other supporters to date. As previously stated, it is still intended to hold a formal dedication service when circumstances permit (watch this space) but it is also intended to install lighting to bathe the statue in artificial light at night, which is why fundraising isn’t quite complete yet. The latest moneyspinner devised by the team is selling bronze statuettes of the monument. These can be pre-ordered via the Project Vernon website's shop although delivery is presently delayed as they come from China:
www.vernon-monument.org.uk/shop.
Meet the trustees
Project Vernon is the registered charity (UK Charity Commission No.1128677) responsible for the monument at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth to celebrate the heritage of HMS VERNON, which previously occupied the site, and honour those involved in mine warfare, diving and bomb & mine disposal - past, present and future. It is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers.
We are grateful to Mr Graham Wheatley for this photo he took recently of most of the charity's trustees at Gunwharf Quays, the site of the monument.
The current trustees comprise former CPO(D) Mike Handford (Chairman), Cdr David Sandiford (Project Manager), serving WO(D) John 'YoYo' Ravenhall, Sean Sweeney MBE (ex-Royal Navy) (Centre Manager at Gunwharf Quays) and Peter Emery (original Gunwharf Quays Centre Director). Unfortunately, Peter Emery was out of the country when the photos were taken.
Tragically, Dr John Bevan (ex-Royal Naval Scientific Service world record-breaking diver and founder of the supportive Historical Diving Society) crossed the bar last month while still in harness as a Trustee.
Tribute must also be paid to the late Cdr Frank Ward, who was the Chairman of Trustees in the early days, as well as initial Project Manager Lt Cdr David Carey plus Lt Cdr Tony Griffiths, former WO(MW) Dixie Dean MBE and former WO(D) Tony Devitt for their past service as trustees.
Funding still required
While our various contributions to date have paid for the statue, we still need to keep the pennies rolling in to cover the costs of the now postponed dedication ceremony, permanent lighting, maintenance, insurance, signage and the new Vernon Link website telling the full story of what it represents.
Make a direct donation here or purchase merchandise via the Project's online shop here. Another good way to donate is to buy PV tickets for the Portsmouth Lottery here for as little as £1 per week. The Project receives at least half the income.