Lost at Sea – A Treasure Hunt in Memoriam
The Netley Marsh war memorial was built in the centre of the village to commemorate the 30 men from the Parish who gave their lives in the Great War. A further 7 names were added after the Second World War. A new geocache has been created to enable some of their stories to be told.
Geocaching is a family-friendly, outdoor treasure hunting game that is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Participants look up nearby geocaches on the www.geocaching.com website and using GPS signals on their phones, navigate to a set of coordinates to search for the hidden ‘treasure’ cache. The website will direct hunters of the Netley Marsh geocache to the memorial where they will need to read the names to find the missing letters and crack the code that will lead to the hidden cache. Inside is an information sheet with details of the 7 men from the parish who were lost at sea during the First World War, and a map pinpointing the most local of the 700 South Coast wrecks. Finders get to sign the log book and trade ‘treasure’, keyrings, badges etc. which is a great way to get children out for a walk! If you would like to find it, start here:
As part of the Heritage Lottery funded Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War project, the Maritime Archaeology Trust in Southampton are creating to highlight the importance and impact of the First World War at Sea, which is largely forgotten. More than 4,000 British ships were lost during the conflict, and more than 1,000 wrecks lie off the south coast.
The ‘Lost at Sea’ cache was created together with the 6th New Forest North, Netley Marsh Scout Group. Every year members from all sections of the Scout Group attend the Remembrance service and lay a wreath. Involving young people and community groups is an essential element of this project. For further information about the project please see our website www.forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.org