HMS ''Erin's Isle'' was a United Kingdom passenger paddle steamer built by A&J Inglis for the Belfast and County Down Railway (B&CDR). She was launched in Glasgow in 1912 as PS ''Erin's Isle'', and sailed regular services on Belfast Lough until 1915. She was then was requisitioned for the Royal Navy and became the minesweeper HMS ''Erin's Isle''. On 7 February 1919 she was sunk by a mine off

Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

. with the loss of 23 lives.

With the B&CDR

The B&CDR had owned and run steamships since 1893, mainly between Belfast and Bangor but also to other destinations in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

and County Antrim. At the end of the 1911 summer season the railway planned to sell , which dated from 1894, and replace her with a new, larger and more modern ship. The company ordered ''Erin's Isle'' from A&J Inglis of Pointhouse, Glasgow, who launched her on 12 June 1912 and fitted her out in less than a month. The B&CDR named her after " Erin", the

Hiberno-English Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...

version of the Irish ''Éirinn'', meaning Ireland. ''Erin's Isle'' entered B&CDR service on 12 July 1912. She worked seasonally from mid-May to the end of September each year, making regular scheduled runs between Belfast and Bangor and between Bangor and Larne, plus excursions from Bangor to other destinations. She ended her fourth summer season on 29 September 1915.

With the Royal Navy

The Admiralty inspected ''Erin's Isle'' on 8 October 1915, and then requisitioned her on 20 November for £400 per month. Six days later she sailed from Belfast to become the Royal Navy auxiliary minesweeper HMS ''Erin's Isle''. ''Erin's Isle'' remained in Royal Navy service after the Armistice with Germany. On 6 February 1919 she sailed from

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

on the Isle of Sheppey and anchored for the night in the North Edinburgh Channel off the Thames Estuary, not far from the

sandbank. At 0600 hrs on 7 November she was still at anchor and her crew were called to rise. About five minutes later a drifting mine struck the forward part of her

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

side beneath the seamen's quarters, blowing her practically in two. She sank in about two minutes with the loss of 23 lives. 28 survivors were rescued, of whom only about three were seamen from the quarters where the mine had struck. The Admiralty paid £53,676 compensation to the B&CDR for the loss of the ship but the railway found that a new ship would cost £64,000. Given the changed economic circumstances after the First World War the company decided not to replace her.

Wreck and war grave

The wreck of ''Erin's Isle'' lies in the North Edinburgh Channel off the Thames Estuary. In 2001 the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

(MoD) began a rolling programme of assessment of wrecks for possible protection as war graves under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. In August 2004 the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...

was advised that the MoD had not designated wreck as a protected place under the Act, but could decide to do so in future.

References

Sources

* (Letter from First Lieutenant Hanlan to Mrs Eileen Fowlow of Trinity East, Newfoundland, widow of Seaman John Fowlow, RNCVR.) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erin's Isle, HMS 1912 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Maritime incidents in 1919 Minesweepers of the Royal Navy Ships sunk by mines Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea