Honouring our heroes: Fundraiser launched to preserve the legacy of the Royal Marines

A nationwide fundraising campaign has been launched to support an exhibition that will showcase and celebrate more than 360 years of Royal Marines history.

Launched by the National Museum of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines Experience – set to transform the historic 1840s Grade II listed Boathouse 6 in Portsmouth Dockyard – will bring the elite fighting force to life, tracing its history back to its formation in 1664.

With a campaign to raise £2.5m, the experience will act as a place of "inspiration, remembrance and education, ensuring that the extraordinary stories of the Corps can be protected for future generations", the appeal said.  

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Per Mare Per Terram

For more than three centuries, the Royal Marines have served on the frontlines of conflict – from the Napoleonic Wars and both World Wars, to the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as countless global humanitarian missions.

Many more operations take place out of the public eye, seldom spoken of or acknowledged – which is what the exhibition seeks to change.  

Several notable celebrities who have worked with the Royal Marines in the past have backed the campaign.

Actor and presenter Ross Kemp, who embedded with 45 Commando in Afghanistan in 2007, said you could see the "discipline, the humour, the calm under pressure, and the fierce loyalty to the person beside them".

He said the Royal Marines Experience matters because "it captures that truth, not as myth, but in the voices of the people who lived it".  

Historian and TV presenter Dan Snow, who has covered the corps extensively through his 'History Hit' podcast series, said: "What makes their story exceptional is not just what happened, but the standard behind it, and the people who carried it.

"If you value our national story and the sacrifices of those who served, this is a story worth backing."

The appeal has said funds raised will go directly towards the exhibition design, and hands-on interactives and experiences that tell the past, present, and future story of the Royal Marines. 

This includes honouring the fallen, commemorating acts of bravery, and preserving the corps history through artefacts, medals, personal letters and operational history.  

A significant portion will also go towards the running and upkeep of a free-to-access Remembrance Room, a place where families can reflect and remember those who gave their lives in service to their country.  

Sarah Adkins, sister of the late Major General Matt Holmes, said: "Matt said, 'Once in the Royal Marines family, always in the Royal Marines family'."

She added that the Remembrance Room will provide a special space in which to remember those who are "no longer with us, honouring both their service and those who grieve their loss".

"The pride in the green beret and all that it stands for unites everyone in the Royal Marines family, irrespective of connection, rank, length of service, combat experience and age," she said. 

Matthew Sheldon, CEO of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, said: "Most of us will never know what it feels like to earn and wear the green beret of the Royal Marines Commandos. 

"So, we want our new Royal Marines Experience to bring visitors closer to the tests of their training and the reality of their deployment, using real voices and remarkable objects.

"We want every visitor to leave with a deeper understanding of history, but also and especially of the challenges faced by these men and women on behalf of the nation, in a period of such change."

If you would like to donate, you can do so by following this link.