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Collingwood sailors remember the bloodiest day associated with their name
18 June 2025
Sailors from HMS Collingwood marked the bloodiest day in the history of the name’s association with the Royal Navy with a poignant memorial service at Blandford Camp.
110 years ago the army establishment in Dorset was where place men assigned to the Collingwood Battalion of the Royal Naval Division were trained.
And since 1919, ‘Collingwood Corner’ has been the focal point for an act of remembrance to honour those sailor-soldiers who were all but wiped out on June 4 1915.
Once trained, the men were sent with the rest of the Royal Naval Division to Gallipoli and the operation intended to knock the Ottoman Empire out of World War One.
Instead, after six weeks of fighting all the offensive achieved was to recreate the Western Front in microcosm on the Gallipoli peninsula; the attackers had advanced just three miles.
On June 4, the Royal Naval Division committed around 2,000 men – part of a larger force of 30,000 Allied troops storming the Turkish lines near the village of Krithia.
The attack began at mid-day. By 12.45pm it had failed completely after two waves of sailors had been committed.
In just 45 minutes’ fighting 1,060 officers and men of the Royal Naval Division were dead. The Collingwood Battalion suffered the bulk of the casualties – so many that it was subsequently disbanded and never re-formed.
Since 1940 the Collingwood name has been carried by the training establishment in Fareham – and the commemoration at Blandford Camp, which still bears many physical reminders of the Royal Naval Division’s presence including practice trenches still used for training today and roads named after the naval battalions which once trained there, is an integral part of the base’s calendar.
This year’s event brought together serving personnel, dignitaries, and members of the public, led by Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell who inspected the guard of honour formed by 24 Victory Squadron ratings from HMS Collingwood.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Bob Brannigan, a trustee of the Collingwood Monument, led the Act of Remembrance and Stuart Adam, whose grandfather served with the Royal Naval Division, also addressed the gathering, providing a personal connection to the history being commemorated. Collingwood’s Volunteer Band provided the musical accompaniment.
"This annual service is an important way for today’s sailors to connect with their naval heritage,” said Captain Tim Davey, HMS Collingwood’s Commanding Officer.
“The Collingwood Battalion, like all the battalions of the Royal Naval Division, demonstrated remarkable adaptability and courage when called to serve in a role far different from what they had trained for. Their story continues to inspire our personnel today."
The Royal Naval Division was formed at the outbreak of World War I under the direction of then First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, when the navy had a surplus of sailors upon mobilisation.
After the mauling at Gallipoli, the division returned to Blandford to re-group and re-train, before deploying to the Western Front, where it served with distinction as the 63rd (RN) Division for the remainder of the war.
The Blandford Memorial was erected in 1919 and originally unveiled by Mrs Spearman, widow of the Collingwood Battalion’s Commanding Officer.