HMS Cavalier (1944) is now preserved at The Historic Dockyard as a memorial to 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during the Second World War and over 11,000 men who lost their lives as a result.
In 2000 an independent Memorial Steering Group, chaired by the then Dean of Rochester, The Very Reverend Edward Shotter, was set up to advise on the presentation of the ship as a memorial. An extensive public consultation was carried out and the results used to develop a brief for a design competition to select an artist/designer for the memorial.
Six artists were short listed for the project during 2002 with the respected sculptor Kenneth Potts being selected for the commission in late 2003. Overall the Steering Group felt that his concept most closely met their design brief and the results of the public consultation. Kenneth Potts is an acclaimed sculptor who specialises in bronze portraits. Formerly a designer for the Royal Worcester Porcelain Company he now works mainly on public commissions. His recent work includes a statue of Air Vice-Marshal 'Johnnie' Johnson.
The Memorial from the Artist's View
"My research revealed the moving story of ordinary men engaged in a titanic battle against an implacable enemy and the unrelenting elements.
My design centres on a destroyer in action, with a graphic depiction of the lives of the men who served in her. Conscious of the fact that the ship in dry dock is removed from the two elements that gave her life, the men and the sea, I have tried to incorporate both and to convey the spirit of the ship in action"
"The scene is set during an imaginary action on convoy protection duty. The ship is engaged in rescuing survivors from a sunken ship, a hazardous procedure that could result in the rescuer becoming a victim of torpedo attack. Beyond the destroyer an expanse of sea graphically portraits the harsh environment of the Atlantic and Arctic wastes in which the convoys operated."
"...an inscription describes the significance of the memorial listing the 142 Royal Navy destroyers lost. The text also makes reference to the 11,000 men who died while operating destroyers in all theatres of battle during the Second World War and to the contribution made by the destroyers of British Dominion and allied navies. This panel continues the sea theme with the lettering super-imposed over the sculpted sea."
Kenneth Potts 2004
