The Memorial reads "In Memory of Captain Charles Algernon Fryatt, Master of the Great Eastern Railway Steamship "Brussels", Illegally executed by the Germans at Bruges on the 27th July 1916. Erected by the company as an expression of their admiration of his gallantry"
Captain Charles Algernon Fryatt
On 28 March 1915, as captain of the SS Brussels he was ordered to stop by a U-boat, U-33. Seeing the U-boat had surfaced to torpedo his ship, Fryatt ordered full steam ahead and tried to ram the U-boat which then crash-dived. For this, Fryatt was awarded a gold watch by the Admiralty. The watch was inscribed "Presented by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to Chas. Algernon Fryatt Master of the S.S. 'Brussels' in recognition of the example set by that vessel when attacked by a German submarine on 28 March 1915".
On 23 June 1916 the SS Brussels left the Hook of Holland bound for Harwich. Lights were shown from the beach and a flare was fired. A passenger is reported to have remained on deck and signalled to shore. Five German destroyers surrounded the ship. The passengers were told to prepare to take to the lifeboats and the ship's official papers were destroyed. Brussels was then captured by the Germans, the radio was destroyed, and it was escorted to Bruges.
Fryatt and his crew were sent to a civilian internment camp near Berlin. Fryatt was charged with sinking a German submarine. In reality, U-33 had not been sunk; at the time of the trial it was on active service. The basis for the charge was the inscription on his gold watch from the Admiralty. Fryatt was tried at a court-martial on 27 July 1916, at Bruges Town Hall. Captain Fryatt was found guilty and sentenced to death. The very same evening Fryatt was executed by a naval firing squad at Bruges within the harbour grounds.
The memorial is made from Limestone.
Limestone.
Limestone is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock in which the main source of the material is lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals Calcite and aragnoite. Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. This is why limestone often contains fossils. Most of the grains that can be seen in limestone are the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral and shells. Most limestone was formed in shallow marine environments, such as continental shelves. There are many types of limestone, four common types are;
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Chalk: Soft, white, and made of tiny plankton shells.
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Travertine: Formed by mineral springs, often used in building.
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Coquina: Made almost entirely of fragmented shell debris.
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Fossiliferous limestone: Contains visible fossil remains.
Limestone weathering
The three main types of weathering that affect limestone are:
1. Chemical Weathering (Carbonation)
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Process: Rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere, forming weak carbonic acid. This is known as acid rain.
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This acid reacts with the calcium carbonate in limestone:
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Effect: The reaction dissolves the limestone, leading to features like sinkholes, limestone pavements, and caves (karst landscapes).
2. Physical Weathering (Freeze–Thaw)
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Process: Water enters cracks in the limestone. When temperatures drop below freezing, the water turns into ice and expands, widening the cracks.
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Effect: Repeated freeze–thaw cycles break apart the rock over time, creating fragments and roughening surfaces.
3. Biological Weathering
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Process: Organisms like moss and lichen grow on or into the limestone. Organisms can produce organic acids that chemically break down the rock.
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Effect: Over time, this leads to both physical breaking and chemical alteration of the limestone surface.
Please study this War Memorial and answer these three simple questions;
1. The Memorial is made up of two blocks, a large one with the writing contained within decorative rope detailing and one above with the crest and the protective coping. There are fossils in both. Which block contains the larger fossils, the lower or the upper block?
2. Of the four types of limestone listed above, what type of Limestone do you think that the memorial is made from?
3. Please describe as best you can the weathering that you can see to the memorial, and which of the three types of weathering are evident?
4. COMPULSORY. Please take a picture of yourself, your GPS device or a personal item or a photo at GZ with your name visible, with the church or the memorial in the background but please be careful that your picture does not give away any answers.
Please feel free to log a find straight after you have sent me your answers. All answers will be looked at and if there are any issues I will contact you. ANY found logs without a photo and any found logs without answers submitted within a reasonable period will be deleted. This is to ensure fairness to those cachers who do complete the tasks required.
