Poignant wreath laying service held at Laurentic Memorial

A poignant wreath laying service has been held at the Laurentic Memorial Monument.

Members of The Ulster Canada Initiative, Fort Dunree, Inishowen Friends of Messines, the Lough Swilly RNLI and Artlink held the small service at the memorial monument at Fort Dunree for the 354 shipmates that perished on the sinking of the HMS Laurentic at the mouth of Lough Swilly on January, 25 1917 after striking two German mines.

Chairperson of the Ulster Canada Initiative Don McNeill said: “We are hosting a much larger and formal commemoration in May in conjunction with the Battle of the Atlantic commemoration taking place in Derry.

"This will be attended by members of the Canadian and Irish Navy along with other dignitaries and around thirty retired Canadian Naval personnel from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Canada traveling for the occasion. We are also expecting a number of descendants of the men who lost their lives in the tragedy to attend."

The story of The Laurentic and biographies of the men who lost their lives are featured in an online archive which is still growing as research is carried out and connections made with family members.

The archive is available at www.laurenticmemorial.com. It brings together all the material gathered over the last number of years in the course of the Memorial Project, along with additional strands that deal with the broader legacy of the ship.