Submerged

I am gratefull to Vivian Granger (daughter) for the details and photos of her father below. Wilfred Bert Granger was born 26/4/1917 in Melbourne Australia and moved too Western Australia in 1929 where his father was Chief Engineer at Lake View &

I am grateful to Sam Mc bride for the following information and photo. The man who tragically lost his life in the Sunderland, just prior to receiving his VC was his uncle, Captain Frederick Thornton Peters, VC, DSO, DSC and bar, DSC (US) RN. He became

Simon was the ships cat on H.M.S. Amethyst.For his outstanding behaviour in keeping morale up, and the rats down, during Amethysts troubles, even though he was wounded by shellfire, he was awarded the Dickinson medal. This is the equivilent of the animal

I am extremely grateful to Mrs Marlene Horton for allowing me to post her son's letter, and for lending me the photos and video footage below Sydney Horton joined the Royal Navy on 15th July 1947 as a Boy Seaman. He did his basic training at H.M.S.Ganges

Film Poster It is hard to believe that after all the Amethyst had done that she should end up being scrapped alongside one of Plymouths most popular pubs, the China House. But all ships eventually have to die, only their story lives on and what a story

About midway between Yealm head and Hillsea Point rocks lies a stretch of water known locally as Fairyland, or the Fairy Grotto’s. It is a great area for photography and its attraction is heightened by the presence of a small trawler wreck. The wreck

As we have seen throughout this website the rocky coast of Devon has been the cause of hundreds of shipwrecks. So much so that many people cannot tell the wrecks from the rocks. If you take a stroll along almost any beach you will be able to turn up some

I am grateful to John Crossland for supplying the following reminiscences, and photo’s of him as a young cadet. Most of the photo’s of the Glen Strathallan come from a fantastic site called Ships Nostalgia where you can find more photo’s of Wendorian

I am extremely grateful to Brian Briggs who sent in this story. He was a mate on the Tug Sun 27, of London Tugs, which towed the Glen Strathallan to her final resting place. He has been in the business for 42 years, on the Thames, all over Europe and

Most ships get wrecked in tragic or unfortunate circumstances. Often they sink in mountainous seas, or get pounded to pieces on some treacherous shore during a howling gale. The sinking of the Glen Strathallan however,

During the winter months when the south west gales are blowing and the rain is coming down in sheets, boat diving is often more trouble than it’s worth. Often I go shore diving around Bovisand or Heybrook Bay. It is usually quite sheltered in the little

Blesk Bolt Head To Bolt Tail Cantabria HMS Coronation and the Penlee Cannons Deventure Dimitrios Elk HMS Foyle Fylrix Glen Strathallen Halloween Herzogin Cecillie Hiogo James Egan Layne Jebba Liberta Maine Medoc Nepaul Oregon Persier Poulmic Plymouth

The Totnes Castle was a Paddle steamer built by Philip and Sons of Dartmouth in 1923 for the Datmouth and Toquay steampacket Co, and the River Dart Steamboat Co Ltd . She was 108 ft long, weighed 91 Tons, and served for many years on the River Dart as

If you look across the Cattewater from the Barbican you can see the huge hangars that used to be part of R.A.F. Mountbatten.The whole site was handed back to the Council some years ago, and now thriving marine buisenesses

During the Great War the opposing armies soon became locked in the bloody stalemate of trench warfare. Each few precious yards won from the enemy exacted a terrible toll in human lives, and soon it became obvious that

I have sometimes heard it said that if you could pull the plug out from the bottom of the sea, you could almost walk from Plymouth to Start Point over the remains of all the ships that have been wrecked along this

The Poulmic is a very popular wreck and is dived by hundreds of divers each year. Most of them only see what they expect to see, so these three stories might encourage you to look harder at what at first sight is just

The wrecking of the Belgian steamer the Louis Shied could almost be a Victorian tale of virtue going un-rewarded. The Louis Shied, on her way home to Antwerp in the early morning of 7 December 1939, came across the

We found this just lightly covered in sand. What you might call 'A good Day'   Is this anchor from the Deventia or the Dragon?   The engine block of the Deventia

The trouble with wreck research is that most of it is carried out in libraries, and after a while, instead of seeing the facts you just start seeing lots of dots. Much more interesting is galloping around the cliff

One of the first things to catch the eye as you look out over Plymouth Sound is the breakwater. At first glance it might not seem a very remarkable structure, but without is Plymouth would not have a Naval base and

By far the largest vessel to hit the Plymouth Breakwater was a U.S.Navy landing craft, the L.S.T. 493. During the D.Day landings this craft had been operating with the British and amongst other duties had landed the

Since the Plymouth Breakwater was built in 1830 a great many ships have come to grief along it's mile-long expanse of stone and concrete. Ships and breakwaters seem to go together, but aeroplanes? Well hardly. However,

On the night of 13 September 1913, the self propelled Hopper Barge No 42 arrived off the Plymouth Breakwater after a voyage from Cadiz. With a gross tonnage of just over one hundred and fifty tons, the Hopper Barge

The question of a wrecks identity is often very difficult to establish unless you are lucky enough to stumble across the ship's bell or some other object that can be used to positively identify the ship. With all the

The James Egan Layne got its name from a U.S. sailor killed during the war. He was serving as a merchant seaman on the Liberty Ship Baton Rouge, and died when his boat was sunk on active service. At the time it was

On the 3 July 1940, during the bad old days of the Second World War, the Royal Navy seized the French personnel carrier Le Poulmic, then lying at Plymouth, after the collapse and surrender of the French forces. Le Poulmic,

It always amazes me how many people seem to dive with their eyes closed. Well I do not mean acutally tight shut, just the fact that they do not see what is often right in front of them. The oft repeated cry, 'there's

Familiarity breeds contempt. There's a clich?if ever there was one. In diving terms, maybe it's not quite so true, as familiarity often breeds confidence and competence. However in the matter of wreck diving it can

Tucked away in the south east corner of England is the seaside town of Sheerness. On the surface you would think that Sheerness was just another pleasant holiday town, and you would be right, because you would have

About six years ago, half buried in a hold deep within the James Egan Layne, I came across a cast iron lump about four feet long, topped off with a large solid brass cap. Now I say that I found it, by judging by the

This is the Coast Guard Log entry for the time that the J.E.Layne was torpedoed and sank. It was provided by Nigel Bunker of Tamar Coast Guards (see Links) here in Plymouth. The entries are quite difficult

Of the 2700 Liberty Ships built between 1941 and 1944, this is the only one left in its original and full operating condition.It can be seen at its berth in San Francisco, and even does trips around the Bay at

In 1940 Britain was fighting alone against an all conquering German war machine. Europe was completely crushed, and in the Atlantic more than one hundred and fifty ships, totalling more than a million tons had been

When I was a child some of my favourite stories were about the great Australian grain races, and the Tea Clippers sailing across the oceans from China. The photographs and drawings of these huge sailing ships fascinated

I met Diana Woolner back in 1997, and although she was in her eighties, she was a sharp as a tack and very charming. At first she declined to be intervieved, but after chatting to my wife, changed her mind and let me

Mid way during 2000, I was contacted by a journalist from a Danish magazine. His name was Hannu Holvas and he was doing a story about the Herzogin Cecillie. He had been shown around the area by Malcomb Darch, (who features

The cabins and other artefacts from the Hertzogin Cecillie are hosed in the excellent maritime museum on the Aland Islands, about 200 km from Stockholm. They are easily reached by a car ferry ( www.eckerolinjen.fi )

iIt is quite rare to be able to handle the log books of the shipwrecks that to dive on, so I was delighted when the museum allowed me to handle and read the log book of the Hertzogin Cecillie. Naturally it was all

iSven Ericsson lived in a house in Lemland (Aland Islands). We got directions from the museum and decided to go and have a look even though it was closed for the off season. The house was set amidst farm land, and as

When I was a child some of my favourite stories were about the great Australian grain races, and the Tea Clippers sailing across the oceans from China. The photographs and drawings of these huge sailing ships fascinated

I met Diana Woolner back in 1997, and although she was in her eighties, she was a sharp as a tack and very charming. At first she declined to be intervieved, but after chatting to my wife, changed her mind and let me

Mid way during 2000, I was contacted by a journalist from a Danish magazine. His name was Hannu Holvas and he was doing a story about the Hertzogin Cecilie. He had been shown around the area by Malcomb Darch, (who features

One of the reasons that I like doing this website is the feedback I get from my visitors. Quite often they provide me with information about a wreck, or the people involved, that you just would not turn up in research,

  www.hopecove.com Hope Cove is a delightful place, and the Cottage Hotel sits neatly across the front of the Bay. You can't miss it. Built in 1890, it now looks much as it did in those times, and although modern in its outlook,

If you look across the Cattewater from the Barbican you can see the huge hangars that used to be part of R.A.F. Mountbatten.The whole site was handed back to the Council some years ago, and now thriving marine businesses occupy the hangars and yuppie

In the early morning of the 27 June 1887 the Hamstone was shrouded in dense fog. Creeping up channel towards Dunkirk was the 844 ton French steamer Soudan, loaded with peanuts, ox hides, and oil from Senegal. The eight

One of the last warships to be built at Plymouth, Scylla was laid down at Devonport Dockyard in 1967, and launched in August 1968.After her fitting out she was commissioned on 14 February 1970 and went on service in

Two miles out from Portwrinkle lies one of the hardest wrecks to locate along this part of the coast. She is the armed merchantship Rosehill. Built in 1911 by S.P. Austin and Son of Sunderland, she was first launched