February 01, 2017 at 07:00AM
Historic England releases striking images and plans to upgrade national memorial to submariners to mark a decisive moment
Striking images of adventurous day-trippers scrambling on board wrecked first world war German submarines off the coast of Cornwall have been released to mark the centenary of the day life at sea became infinitely more perilous for British mariners: 1 February 1917, the day Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare, meaning that its U-boats would torpedo any British ships or those trading with the UK without warning.
Historic England is also upgrading to Grade II* the national memorial to submariners on the Thames embankment at Temple Pier in London. The sculpture by Frederick Hitch, showing a cross-section of a submarine surrounded by allegorical figures, was unveiled in 1922 in memory of the third of the submarine service’s total personnel who died in the war, the highest percentage of any of the armed forces. Submarines had been moored near the pier as early as 1907 and in August 1916 a captured German U-boat was moored there as a tourist attraction.
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