It was a poignant moment for members of the town’s naval association yesterday as they filed into St Mary’s Priory Church for the annual HMS Monmouth Remembrance Service, Tuesday, November 1.

The seventh HMS Monmouth, known as The Black Duke, was decommissioned last year, ending a long line of Monmouth’s who had served their Queen and country.

The Monmouth Branch of the Royal Naval Association were joined by Standards from the Royal British Legion (Caroline Bright), Association of Wrens (Christine Walker), her husband John held the Royal Air Force Association Standard and Tony Martin had the honours of bearing the Standard of the Royal Naval Association.

The service was taken by the Reverend Catherine Haynes who is also the RNA honorary branch chaplain. The Last Post was played by Robert Morgan MBE and a wreath was laid by Sea Cadet James Phillips. Adrian Hamilton gave the Royal British Legion Act of Remembrance. The service honours the crew of the sixth HMS Monmouth which was sunk at the Battle of Coronel after taking 70 rounds of enemy fire on 1st November 1914: The entire crew was lost.

The naval battle of Coronel was the first major engagement between the German and British navies in WW1 and resulted in the first defeat of a British naval squadron for over 100 years. Ships under the command of Vice-Admiral Graf von Spee, sank HMS Monmouth and Rear-Admiral Cradock’s flag ship, HMS Good Hope, with the loss of all on board. On HMS Monmouth, 734 personnel died (42 officers and 692 ratings) including 24 Royal Marine band members and 46 boy sailors. There was no possibility of rescue because of heavy seas and night-time conditions.

The seventh and last HMS Monmouth was launched in 1991, a type 23 Frigate of 3,500 tons with a complement of 185 men. Her armament included Harpoon and Seawolf missiles, anti-submarine torpedo tubes and a Merlin helicopter. She was quietly decommissioned on the 30 June 2021.

The sixth HMS Monmouth, a first class armoured cruiser of 9,800 tons, remains the ship to have the highest number of battle honours in the navy - as battle honours are not conferred any more it is a record that will stand unbeaten.

Without doubt, the name HMS Monmouth has left a tremendous legacy that will never be surpassed and the town can be proud to have adopted such a warrior.