Annual Seafarers Memorial Service

Portsmouth Cathedral hosts the Annual Seafarers Memorial Service on Sunday 28 June, starting at 11:00. It's a morning dedicated to the Royal Navy and civilian seafarers who lost their lives at sea, and it's open to anyone who wants to attend.

The service itself is led by the Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Reverend Dr Anthony Cane. But it doesn't start and end inside the cathedral. Before the service, the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Cllr Abdul Kadir, leads a short civic procession along St Thomas's Street into Old Portsmouth. After the service, that same procession carries everyone back out to the statue of Admiral Lord Nelson on Grand Parade. There, the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson, presides over the laying of wreaths at the memorial, and Cllr Kadir casts a wreath into the sea for those who died at sea. A collection will be taken for the Seafarers' Charity.

It's a broad gathering, with the Lord Mayor and the Lord-Lieutenant joined by the mayors of Gosport, Havant and Fareham, alongside representatives from the Royal Navy and various community, military and charitable organisations. The whole thing is open to the public, so you don't need any particular connection to the Navy to come along and pay your respects.

If you're planning to be there, the service starts at 11:00 at Portsmouth Cathedral, with the civic procession before and the wreath-laying at Grand Parade after. Entry is free.