HMS Thunderer Memorial

The HMS Thunderer Memorial is a grave marker commemorating a fatal explosion that occurred on board HMS Thunderer in 1876. It features a square limestone slab, a square pink granite plinth, and a marble base and shaft.

The memorial is designed as an obelisk that stands on a stepped granite plinth. It rises to an inscribed pedestal, which has a moulded shoulder where it meets the shaft. The pedestal is inscribed with applied metal lettering that reads: ‘THIS MONUMENT WHICH STANDS ON THE GRAVES / OF / MESS. TC SLADE CHIEF ENGINEER RN / AND ROBERT WINFIELD ENGINEER RN / IS ERECTED BY BROTHER OFFICERS / FELLOW WORKMEN AND FRIENDS / TO THE MEMORY OF ALL THOSE WHO LOST THEIR / LIVES THROUGH THE EXPLOSION OF A BOILER / ON BOARD HMS THUNDERER AT SPITHEAD ON JULY 14TH 1876. / THE GREATER PART OF WHOM ARE BURIED IN / THE GRAVES ADJOINING THIS MONUMENT.’

The other three faces of the obelisk list the names of the deceased, organized by rank and role. The granite plinth is marked with the name of the masons, White Bros.