30 October 2016

The City of Greater Dandenong Band participated in Noble Park RSL's Centenary Commemoration of the Battle of Jutland this Sunday.
 

Fought in the North Sea off the Danish coast on 31 May 1916, the Battle of Jutland was the biggest naval engagement of the First World War and was the only direct confrontation between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. 

The battle involved 274 warships and over 70,000 sailors. By the time the opposing fleets finally broke contact in the small hours of 1 June, the British had lost 14 ships and 6,784 men, and the Germans 11 ships and 3,209 men.
 

While no RAN ship took part in the action, there were at least five Australians among the British crews, and possibly more that are not known about. Three of them were to lose their lives, all serving aboard the same ship - armoured cruiser HMS Defence, which was blown apart with the loss of all 903 men.
 

Thank you to those that were able to join us to remember and pay our respects to all of those who were involved in the Battle of Jutland, especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.