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The Submarine Service was known as the Silent Service.

At the start of World War One; Britain had 57 submarines. By the end of the conflict 56 had been lost. However, a major building programme meant the Navy ended the war with more vessels than it started with.

Around 30 submarines were lost as a result of enemy action but some were destroyed by so-called friendly fire.

The initial role of the submarine was to attack enemy warships but they soon had to be used to counter the threat of German U-boats to British shipping.

The idea for a memorial to submariners came about in 1919. Funding came from the men of the Submarine Service and from the relatives of those who had served and died in the war.

The memorial by the sculptor Frederick Brook Hitch was unveiled on the Victoria Embankment in December 1922.

Location: The National Submarine Memorial, Victoria Embankment, London E4