Hull has historically been a recruiting ground for the Royal Marines, who are world famous for fighting ‘On Land and Sea’.
Thirty Seven Royal Marines from Hull died in the First World war, and another thirty Hull men died serving with the Royal Navy Division.
At the start of the war there were between 20-30,000 Naval reserves who could not find jobs on any war ships. Winston Churchill decided that this was sufficient to form two Naval Brigades and a Brigade of Marines for fighting on land. This became the 63rd Royal Naval Division.
The Royal Naval Division, formed in September 1914, fought on land alongside the Army in the First World War. It consisted of personnel brought together from the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Fleet Reserve, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, a brigade of Royal Marines, Royal Navy and Army personnel. The Royal Naval Divison saw action at Gallipolli, the Somme, Passchendaele, and all the closing battles of 1918. It was disbanded in April 1919, having suffered 47,900 casualties during the war.
