The words of Sir Winston Churchill echoed across one of London’s most famous sites as an historic monument to sailors who fought as soldiers was rededicated.

Today’s Royal Navy reconsecrated the impressive Royal Naval Division memorial in Horse Guards Parade with full ceremony, 22 years after it was returned to the heart of the capital.

Serving personnel lined up with retired senior officers, veterans, politicians, and descendants of some of those who served in the famous unit for the service, which featured a mix of remembrance, religious ceremony and history as experts put the deeds and sacrifices of the sailor-soldiers into context.

The Ceremonial Guard from last weekend’s Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph were on parade alongside the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines, plus marching platoons of sailors and Royal Marines. His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent was Guest of Honour.

The Venerable Ralph Barber, Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, performed the formal act of rededication “as a sign and symbol of this nation’s remembrance of those whom it commemorates”, honouring men of “courage and commitment in the face of great adversity”.

Major General Rich Cantrill Royal Marines, the Royal Navy’s Commander Operations, read the address given by Churchill when the memorial was originally dedicated in April 1925, before he laid a wreath in memory of the Great War warriors with Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Steve Moorhouse.

Stew Kilby, a former Royal Navy officer who has studied the division’s role between 1914 and 1918, said he hoped the rededication would elevate the sailors back to where they belonged.

“The remarkable story of the Royal Naval Division is often overlooked, falling between the Army’s Great War history and traditional maritime history. This unique formation, made up of sailors who fought as soldiers, was defined by an extraordinary ethos, camaraderie, and fighting spirit,” Mr Kilby said.

“I hope this event rekindles interest in their story and honours the more than 47,000 casualties they suffered during World War 1. Their bravery, resilience, and sacrifices must never be forgotten, and it is vital we preserve their legacy for future generations.”

Vice Admiral Moorhouse said the division – whose ranks were filled with sailors and Royal Marines – had been “a unique formation that combined naval traditions with the challenges of land warfare during World War 1.

He continued: “Their immense sacrifice is not well known, with over 40 per cent of all Royal Navy and Royal Marine casualties in the war occurring on land within the ranks of the Royal Naval Division. It is vital that we continue to remember their extraordinary contribution and sacrifice.”

The division was the brainchild of Churchill – the politician responsible for the Royal Navy when the Great War began – who thrust rifles into the arms of mobilised sailors who had no ships when the conflict broke out and sent to Belgium to defend Antwerp.

The port fell, but the idea of a division of sailors fighting at the front persisted and its battalions, each named after naval heroes such as Drake, Anson, Hood, Nelson, were regularly refreshed for new tasks.

Over the next four years, some 47,000 men became casualties, with around 11,500 sailors and Royal Marines dying in its ranks.

The division remained solidly ‘naval’ throughout: men were seamen and petty officers, not privates and sergeants. Units flew the White Ensign, and sailors spoke of ‘going ashore’ when leaving camp.

Its memorial – designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the country’s leading architect of the day – takes the unusual form of a towering fountain.

The monument was moved from Horse Guards to Greenwich in World War 2 and only returned to its original location in 2003.