At present no image of this war memorial is available for online display. If you have a photograph of this war memorial, please upload it via our image upload form for inclusion on the Register. The image will be credited to yourself and free for reuse for non-commercial purposes by others under the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Wrexham
Town
Whitewell
County
Clwyd
Country
Wales
Commemoration
Second World War (1939-1945), VC or GC Recipients
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
49856

Support IWM

Donate with Just Giving

Any gift we receive makes a vital contribution to our ongoing work, from conserving our collection to supporting our public programme.

Make a Donation
Current location

St Mary's Church
Whitewell
Wrexham
Clwyd
SY13 3AR
Wales

OS Grid Ref: SJ 495 415
Denomination: Church in Wales

View location on Google Maps
Description
Slate tablet with Victoria Cross on left. Coat of arms at right.
Inscription
IN MEMORY OF/ BERNARD WARBURTON-LEE V.C./ CAPTAIN ROYAL NAVY/ BORN AT BROAD OAK IN THIS PARISH 13TH SEPT 1896/ KILLED IN ACTION AT NARVIK 10TH APRIL 1940/ THE VICTORIA CROSS WAS AWARDED FOR GALLANTRY, ENTERPRISE/ AND DARING, IN COMMAND OF THE FORCE ENGAGED IN THE FIRST/ BATTLE OF NARVIK 10TH APRIL 1940./ "ON BEING ORDERED TO CARRY OUT AN ATTACK ON NARVIK, HE/ LEARNED THAT THE ENEMY HELD THE PLACE IN MUCH GREATER FORCE/ THAN HAD BEEN THOUGHT. HE SIGNALLED TO THE ADMIRALTY THAT/ THE ENEMY WERE REPORTED TO BE HOLDING NARVIK IN FORCE, THAT/ SIX DESTROYERS AND ONE SUBMARINE WERE THERE, THAT THE CHANNEL MIGHT BE MINED AND THAT HE INTENDED TO ATTACK/ AT DAWN, HIGHWATER./ THE ADMIRALTY REPLIED THAT TWO NORWEGIAN COAST DEFENCE/ SHIPS MIGHT BE IN GERMAN HANDS, THAT HE ALONE COULD JUDGE/ WHETHER TO ATTACK AND WHATEVER DECISION HE MADE WOULD/ HAVE FULL SUPPORT. CAPTAIN WARBURTON-LEE GAVE OUT THE/ PLAN FOR HIS ATTACK AND LED HIS FLOTILLA OF FIVE DESTROYERS/ UP THE FJORD IN HEAVY SNOWSTORMS, ARRIVING OFF NARVIK JUST/ AFTER DAYBREAK. HE TOOK THE ENEMY COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE/ AND MADE THREE SUCCESSFUL ATTACKS ON WARSHIPS AND/ MERCHANTMEN IN THE HARBOUR. THE LAST ATTACK WAS MADE/ ONLY AFTER ANXIOUS DEBATE./ ON THE FLOTILLA WITHDRAWING, FIVE ENEMY DESTROYERS OF/ SUPERIOR GUN POWER WERE ENCOUNTERED AND ENGAGED. THE/ CAPTAIN WAS MORTALLY WOUNDED BY A SHELL WHICH HIT/ H.M.S. HARDY'S BRIDGE. HIS LAST SIGNAL WAS/ "CONTINUE TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY".
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Lee, B Warburton
See details
Commemorations
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: rank, surname, date of death, date of birth, service, place of death, forename, manner of death, additional
    Order of information: Undefined
  • VC or GC Recipients
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: rank, surname, date of death, date of birth, service, place of death, forename, manner of death, additional
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Tablet
    Measurements: depth 50 MM, height 1200 MM, width 800 MM
    Materials: Slate
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-49856

For queries, please contact [email protected].