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'Not Easily Forgotten': Royal Letters On Jutland Displayed
The Battle Of Jutland was 'not easily forgotten', according to the future George VI, who fought aboard HMS Collingwood in the key First World War clash.
Letters written by George VI and his brother Edward VIII about the battle are going on display for the first time to mark the centenary of the key naval clash.
The letters by the future Kings will feature in an exhibition at the National Museum Of The Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth.
The Battle Of Jutland was fought over 36 hours from May 31 to June 1 1916. 6,094 British lives were lost along with 2,551 Germans, but the Germans failed to break the blockade of the North Sea by the British, making the battle a significant moment in the war.
In the previously unseen letters from the Imperial War Museums' collection, Edward, who was serving on the Western Front at the time, wrote of the British Grand Fleet.
"It does make one feel proud of the service when one hears how those ships met their end, with their guns firing as they went down. I'm so glad old Bertie was in the fight as it will buck him up a lot".
"Old Bertie" was his brother Albert, Duke of York, who became George VI in 1936 when Edward abdicated to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. Just 20 years old when HMS Collingwood fought at Jutland, Albert wrote in the aftermath:
"I am quite all right and feel very different now that I have seen a German ship filled with Germans and have seen it fired out with our guns. It was a great experience to have gone through and one not easily forgotten. We had torpedoes fired at us which we got out of the way of luckily... It seems to have resulted in a victory for us".
Nick Hewitt, head of heritage development for the NMRN, said British battle cruisers engaged the German fleet, with two British ships sunk.
They then made a "run to the north" to bring the Germans towards the Grand Fleet.
"There's an incredible moment when the Grand Fleet looms over the horizon in a perfect line with gun barrels rippling. There's 10 minutes of fleet to fleet action before the Germans realise they are catastrophically outnumbered. It was a very important moment. He (George) was very aware, as they all were, of the key moment they were involved in."
Alongside the letters, more than 80 items from the Imperial War Museums will be on show in '36 Hours: Jutland 1916, The Battle That Won The War'
The exhibition opens on May 12 at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth.
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