100 years ago today the Town of Ramsey suffered its greatest loss of the First World War when five Ramsey men amongst thirteen Manx men lost their lives at the sinking of the British battleship HMS Goliath.

On the night of 12–13 May, Goliath was anchored in Morto Bay off Cape Helles, along with Cornwallis and a screen of five destroyers, in foggy conditions.

Around 01:00 on 13 May, a Turkish torpedo boat eluded the destroyers Beagle and Bulldog and three others and closed on the battleships. The Turkish boat fired two torpedoes which struck Goliath almost simultaneously abreast her fore turret and abeam the fore funnel, causing a massive explosion. Goliath began to capsize almost immediately, and was lying on her beam ends when a third torpedo struck near her after turret. She then rolled over completely and began to sink by the bows, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the sea bed, including her commanding officer.

At 6:30pm this evening (13th May 2015) Commissioners representatives will attend the Cenotaph in Ramsey to place crosses in memory of the loss of Daniel Stephen Graham, Daniel Kinrade, John T Corkish, John James McCormick and James Quayle.