Honouring the lives lost off the Kent coast on 31 May 1878.
Nearly 150 years ago, almost 300 lives were lost when the German ironclad Grosser Kurfürst sank off the coast of Folkestone. Close to 100 of those men are now buried in the grassed area around the Grosser Kurfürst memorial in Cheriton Road Cemetery. Some were rescued, but the rest were never recovered—lost to the sea.
On Saturday 31st May, 147 years to the day, our volunteer group held a short service at the memorial to honour the lives lost in that tragic event.
Cheriton Road Cemetery is now closed to new burials, though ashes are sometimes interred in existing family graves. Most people walking by the stone wall on their way to Morrisons probably don’t realise how significant this forgotten place is. Within these walls lie grand memorials and humble headstones, some overgrown or broken, and many more graves now marked only by grass. Among them are 45 Commonwealth war graves and three recipients of the Victoria Cross.
But on this day, we gathered at the Grosser Kurfürst memorial to remember one specific tragedy. Carole, one of our volunteers, told the small group what happened on that day in 1878. It was a day much like today—calm sea, warm weather—and the Grosser Kurfürst, along with two sister ships, was on peacetime naval exercises just off the coast.
In a sudden manoeuvre to avoid a merchant ship, the Grosser Kurfürst was struck by the König Wilhelm, one of its own, which had been fitted with a reinforced ram bow—a weapon designed to sink enemy vessels. It tore through the armour-plated hull of the Grosser Kurfürst, which sank within minutes. As it went down, it created a vortex that dragged many of the crew to their deaths. There were very few survivors.
At the time, William Smith, First Lord of the Admiralty, told MP Bedford Pimm:
“A collision occurred between the König Wilhelm and the Grosser Kurfürst in an endeavour to avoid a collision with a merchant vessel. The Grosser Kurfürst appears to have sunk at once. The coastguard at Folkestone rendered immediate assistance.”
Margaret, another of our volunteers, shared how local fishermen did what they could to pull sailors from the sea—many would have drowned without their help.
Today, the wreck of the Grosser Kurfürst has scheduled protection and is listed on the National Heritage List for England. The tall dark grey memorial in the cemetery has also been granted Grade II listed status.
To complete our short service, we laid a blue floral tribute at the memorial and said a short German prayer for those men who died so far from home.
A thank you to those local people who were able to join us for this short event, it was very gratifying that so many interesting questions were asked after the event and our volunteers were more than happy to answer.
This item also published in local newspapers The Looker and The Hurricane
