Admiral Graf Spee Memorial & Grave Albert Pagels

This memorial commemorates the crew members of the Admiral Graf Spee ships that were sunk in the Battle of the Falkland in 1914. Next to the memorial is the grave of sailor Albert Pagels, a German WW1 veteran. He received both the 1st and 2nd class Iron Cross.

"To Admiral Graf Spee and the heroic crews of his ships, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg, Leipzig and Dresden. Victoriously fought in the Battle of Santa Maria, 2 Nov 1914and died for the far distant Fatherland in the Battle of the Falkland Islands 8 Dec 1914. Honoured and remembered by the German Colony in Punta Arenas 2 Nov 1925"
Santa Maria is also known as Battle of Coronel.

Albert Pagels (July 4 1878-July 20 1966) was a German merchant seaman whom settled in Punta Arenas after contracting malaria. He became a fisherman, hunter and tour guide using his motorised lifeboat. At the outbreak of WW1 SMS Dresden had been operating off the coast of South America when she received orders to rendezvous with Admiral Graf Spee's East Asia Squadron near Easter Island. Dresden fought at the Battle of Coronel on 1st Nov 1914. and also the Battle of Falkland Islands on 8th Dec 1914 where she was the only German ship to escape destruction, partly due to her high propulsion speed. Dresden fled to the Tierra Fuego, where with the help of Albert she was hidden in Quintupeu Fjord despite repeated searches by British warships. Dresden eventually left the security of its hiding place to continue its campaign, eventually ending up in Cumberland Bay, Robinson Crusoe Island, where despite being in neutral territory she was attacked by HMS Kent and scuttled by her crew.

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Source

• Text: Kaj Metz
• Photos: Anthony (Sharky) Ward (1, 2, 3), Albert Pagels (1940) Mein Leben., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (4)