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£250k fundraising drive for monument to ‘Spitfires of the Sea’ launched
19 November 2025
This is the memorial to the ‘Spitfires of the Sea’ which could greet visitors to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard if £250,000 is raised.
Historians and enthusiasts want to install this statue just inside Victory Gate as a permanent tribute to the men and women of the Royal Navy’s Coastal Forces and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
During both world wars, small, fast, nimble motor boats proved a constant thorn in the side of whichever enemy they faced, frequently grappling with much larger, more powerful vessels – and getting the better of them.
Coastal Forces personnel earned more than 3,000 bravery awards – including four Victoria Crosses, more proportionally than any other branch of the Royal Navy.
Coastal Forces craft fought in some 900 actions, fired more torpedoes than the Silent Service, and sank 400 enemy vessels – but at a heavy cost: some 300 craft (one in 12 boats) were lost in action.
The crews were a mix of reservists and wartime conscripts, renowned for both their youth (average age 21) camaraderie and sense of family. Veterans included future acting greats such as Avenger Patrick Macnee and Dr Who Patrick Troughton, Bond film director Guy Hamilton, and long-serving Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson.
The memorial the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust hopes to install features two bronze figures poised on the bows of a motor gunboat, with a WRNS signaller alongside them.
Designed by celebrated Hampshire sculptor Amy Goodman, the monument has drawn inspiration for one of the figures from Coastal Forces legend Lieutenant Commander Robert Hichens, the most highly decorated RNVR officer with two Distinguished Service Orders, three Distinguished Service Cross and three Mentions in Dispatches. His death in 1943 sent shockwaves through the service.
There is an impressive modern gallery celebrating the Coastal Forces at Priddy’s Hard in Gosport.
But the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust believes a striking memorial in Portsmouth – the harbour was home to HMS Hornet, the Coastal Forces HQ for 30 years until the mid-1950s – is “long overdue”.
Rear Admiral Rex Cox, Chair of the trust, continued: “Coastal Forces, the RNVR, and the WRNS made extraordinary contributions in both world wars. The design reflects their courage and ingenuity - and this campaign is our opportunity to give them the recognition they deserve.”
Hannah Prowse, chief executive of Portsmouth Historic Quarter, added: “We are excited at the prospect of this interactive and inspiring monument which will help bring the stories of courage and daring to life.
“We are privileged to be the custodians of Motor Gun Boat 81 and Coastal Motor Boat 4R that allow people to experience the thrill of riding on Coastal Forces vessels.”
Standing four metres (13ft) tall, the monument will be unveiled in May 2027 if funding is secured. The Trust team will be travelling around the coast, telling some of the untold stories of Coastal Forces to schools, Cadet Forces, sailing clubs and industry groups to drum up support in the coming months.
You can find out more about the project at www.coastal-forces.org.uk and you can make donations via www.justgiving.com/charity/coastal-forces.