The Great War at Sea

U-boat Alley

With the German blockade of Britain, the Irish Sea became one of the most dangerous waterways in the world. While U-boats roamed the area, life became more perilous for the Manx.

The HMS Bayano was torpedoed on 11 March 1915 off Carswell Point, Stranraer, by a U-27 195 men were lost, including three Manxmen, with only 26 saved. Several bodies from the wreck washed up on Manx shores

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As a precaution against U-boats, an Extinction of Lights Order was introduced on the island in 1915 Mona's Herald, 24 April 1915

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Porthole from the SS Romeo The Romeo was torpedoed 10 miles off the Manx coast in March 1918

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Medals awarded to Thomas Woods, one of the crew of the Wanderer The Wanderer, a fishing boat from Peel, was the first rescue vessel on the scene of the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 off the south coast of Ireland, with the loss of 1198 lives.

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Thomas H McGrattan, merchant seaman aboard the SS Belgian Prince, sunk 31 July 1917 Two Manx sailors were among those murdered when their lifeboats were smashed and their lifejackets taken in one of the worst U-boat atrocities. Only five of the crew survived.

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U-boat Attacks on the Girl Emily and the Marguerite Towards the end of the war, Manx fishermen found themselves in direct contact with the enemy

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The Steam Packet at War

In 1914 the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company owned 15 vessels. Eleven of these were requisitioned by the government for use in the war; four would be lost.

The IoMSPCo vessel Mona's Queen, with dazzle camouflage This paddle steamer rammed a U-boat in the English Channel while working as a troopship

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Oral history by Captain Corteen about the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in the Great War, including the Ben Veg (pictured)

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IoMSPCo vessel King Orry at the surrender of the German fleet, 21 November 1918 Painting by AJW Burgess, c1919

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IoMSPCo vessel Prince Edward was converted into a netlayer

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The Ben my Chree became a seaplane carrier One of her planes was the first to sink a ship with an airborne torpedo attack.

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The HMS Ramsey worked as an Armed Boarding Vessel The ship was attacked and sunk in the Scapa Flow in August 1915

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Life at Sea

“Braving the perils of the wind and waves as well as enemy action, theirs was an often unglamorous war, though it was by no means without hazard”

Matthew Richardson, This Terrible Ordeal: Manx Diaries, Letters and Memories of the Great War

The HMS Bayano was torpedoed on 11 March 1915 off Carswell Point, Stranraer, by a U-27 195 men were lost, including three Manxmen, with only 26 saved. Several bodies from the wreck washed up on Manx shores

As a precaution against U-boats, an Extinction of Lights Order was introduced on the island in 1915 Mona's Herald, 24 April 1915

Porthole from the SS Romeo The Romeo was torpedoed 10 miles off the Manx coast in March 1918

Medals awarded to Thomas Woods, one of the crew of the Wanderer The Wanderer, a fishing boat from Peel, was the first rescue vessel on the scene of the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 off the south coast of Ireland, with the loss of 1198 lives.

Thomas H McGrattan, merchant seaman aboard the SS Belgian Prince, sunk 31 July 1917 Two Manx sailors were among those murdered when their lifeboats were smashed and their lifejackets taken in one of the worst U-boat atrocities. Only five of the crew survived.

U-boat Attacks on the Girl Emily and the Marguerite Towards the end of the war, Manx fishermen found themselves in direct contact with the enemy

The IoMSPCo vessel Mona's Queen, with dazzle camouflage This paddle steamer rammed a U-boat in the English Channel while working as a troopship

Oral history by Captain Corteen about the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in the Great War, including the Ben Veg (pictured)

IoMSPCo vessel King Orry at the surrender of the German fleet, 21 November 1918 Painting by AJW Burgess, c1919

IoMSPCo vessel Prince Edward was converted into a netlayer

The Ben my Chree became a seaplane carrier One of her planes was the first to sink a ship with an airborne torpedo attack.

The HMS Ramsey worked as an Armed Boarding Vessel The ship was attacked and sunk in the Scapa Flow in August 1915

Lieutenant Commander John Lindsay Quine Audio recording of his memories of his naval service in the Great War

A button used by Thomas Wilson to fight thirst while adrift Wilson's ship, the SS Thirlby, was sunk off the west coast of Ireland on 2 July 1917

The battleship Goliath was sunk at Gallipoli in May 1915 At least 30 of the 700-strong crew were Manx, and many were among the 570 men who died. This included John Corkish of Ramsey (above).