The loss 100 years ago of a Ramsey resident and of a vessel with strong links to the town will be marked on Saturday August 8th at the war memorial in the Courthouse Gardens in a short ceremony starting at 10.55am arranged by Ramsey Town Commissioners.
On Saturday August 8th 1915 engine room hand William Lord, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Lord of 7 Mona Street, Ramsey, died aged 25, one of 21 Manx men out of 55 seamen killed when the first HMS Ramsey was sunk while on patrol out of Scapa Flow.
As a mark of respect to those from the community of Ramsey who gave their lives during the First World War the Commissioners have pledged to place a simple wooden cross for each individual on the 100th anniversary of their loss.
One such cross will be placed in memory of William Lord at the war memorial and a wreath laid by the Ramsey branch of the Royal Naval Association to commemorate the loss of the former Isle of Man Steam Packet Company ship The Ramsey during the ceremony, which will include a two-minutes’ silence.
Ramsey Town Commissioners’ chairman Richard Radcliffe said: ‘Ramsey is proud to enjoy an affiliation with the current HMS Ramsey, on which the Freedom of Entry was conferred in 2010.
‘This Saturday we shall be commemorating not only the loss of the ship that bears our town’s name and 55 of her crew but also of one of our own, William Lord, who gave his life serving for his homeland and our freedom 100 years ago. We would therefore welcome any relative of William Lord to come forward who may wish to join with us in reflection and place the cross in his memory.’
The ‘first’ Ramsey
The Ramsey was built for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company by Barrow Shipbuilders and sailed on the Fleetwood and Belfast route as the Duke of Lancaster. In 1912 she was bought by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and named The Ramsey. After completing the 1914 season on the Liverpool to Douglas route, she was taken over by the British government and fitted out by Cammell, Laird and Company as an armed boarding vessel.
The current HMS Ramsey
Based on the Clyde HMS Ramsey is one of seven Royal Navy Sandown-class minehunters. She was launched in November 1999 and commissioned into the fleet in September 2000. In 2014 she took part in the 70th anniversary commemorations of the invasion of southern France shortly after spending three years in the Gulf.
Photo - A scene from a remembrance ceremony earlier this year in Ramsey’s Courthouse Gardens. Picture Andrew Barton.
