A Midland couple will be among a team of scuba divers who will lay a wreath on the wreck of a First World War ship in which 250 crewmen lost their lives.
The British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) divers are planning their commemorative dive on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Pathfinder, the first ever ship to be sunk by a submarine-launched torpedo.
Sarah Jepson and Mark Callaghan, from Solihull, will be diving on the cruiser Pathfinder which was steaming off the east coast of Scotland, near St Abbs Head, on September 5, 1914, when the locomotive torpedo from German U-boat 21 slammed into her side and the ship went down.
The flash ignited the ship’s magazine, destroying the fore section of the ship and causing the foremast and number one funnel to collapse.
The majority of crew below decks had neither the time nor opportunity to escape and went down with the ship.
Advanced diver and BSAC volunteer honorary secretary Ms Jepson and Mr Callaghan, a first class diver, will be among 20 scuba divers who dive 223ft to the wreck this week. Photographs and video footage of the wreck will also ensure her story is recorded for future generations.
Ms Jepson said: “It’s going to be a very sombre occasion as we will be diving on what is a war grave. The fact the dive, weather permitting, will take place on the 100th anniversary of the tragedy makes it all the more poignant.
“Since plans for the dive were announced, several families who lost relatives when the Pathfinder was sunk have expressed an interest in visiting the wreck site on the day, which reminds us just what a human tragedy this was and how it still affects people to this day.”
Mr Callaghan will be videoing the wreck during what will be a very technical dive.
He said: “The wreck lies in deep water and this dive is not one for novices. It will be quite a technical dive and we will be using an advanced tri-mix of gases.
“It really will be a sombre occasion. Tackling the dive on the 100th anniversary of the Pathfinder’s sinking will make it a particularly poignant occasion.
“However, we really will be at the mercy of the weather and of course the sea conditions but, hopefully, we can complete the dive on the anniversary of the day the Pathfinder was sunk.”
Records show that the Cammel Laird Birkenhead-built ship was struck by a single torpedo fired from U-21 as it patrolled the Scottish coast south of the Isle of May.
Launched on July 16, 1904, HMS Pathfinder was the lead ship of the Pathfinder class of cruisers.
Armed with nine four-inch guns, she initially saw service with the Atlantic and channel fleet while at the start of the First World War she was part of the 8th destroyer flotilla based at Rosyth in the Firth of Forth.
