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Events in Waterford Mark Centenary of Maritime Disaster

18th December 2017
Several events were held in Waterford to mark the centenary of a shipping disaster in 1917, among them along the city quays as pictured above. Several events were held in Waterford to mark the centenary of a shipping disaster in 1917, among them along the city quays as pictured above. Credit: Robin Barnett/Twitter

#WW1ceremony - The relatives of two men who died when two merchant ships were torpedoed by a German submarine in December 1917 have spoken of their pride at seeing their family members remembered at a ceremony in Waterford.

As The Irish Times writes, brothers Mark and David Lumley travelled from the UK specially to attend the commemoration in Waterford for the 83 crew, including their great grandfather and their granduncle, who perished when the SS Formby and the SS Coningbeg were torpedoed by German submarine U-62 while en route from Liverpool.

Mark Lumley explained: “Our great grandfather, Joseph Lumley, was the captain of the SS Coningbeg, which was torpedoed on December 17th 1917 while his son, William - our granduncle - was an engineer on the SS Formby which was torpedoed two days earlier on December 15th.

For more on the ceremony conducted in the south-east city port click here.

Published in Coastal Notes
Jehan Ashmore

About The Author

Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

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