A project has been launched to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a naval tragedy which struck Sheerness, plunging the Island into mourning.

In May 1915, an explosion on board HMS Princess Irene, a minelayer moored at sea three miles from the town centre, killed 273 crew and 76 dockyard workers.

Only one person survived, a stoker who was found among the floating wreckage.

It was the second disaster to befall Sheppey in six months after HMS Bulwark blew-up off Sheerness with a loss of 600 lives.

The names of Islanders killed in both incidents are inscribed on the town’s war memorial.

The Princess Irene story is the subject of a Blue Town Heritage Centre exhibition in April.

It’s part of the group’s monthly Sheppey Remembered programme and is set to include a talk and a display of pictures and vintage news reports on the tragedy.

Centre trustee Chris Newman is appealing for relatives of those killed in the blast to help provide a personal background on the Island victims.

He said: “The dockyard workers who died in the tragedy have never been fully recognised.
“They wouldn’t have been given a medal or bravery award so this is an opportunity for us to put faces to the names.”

Wreckage from the Princess Irene blast fell up to 20 miles away from Sheerness.

“The dockyard workers who died in the tragedy have never been fully recognised" - Chris Newman

People in Sittingbourne were injured by falling debris, while a nine-year-old girl on the Isle of Grain was struck and killed by a piece of metal.

Mr Newman, of Uplands Way, Halfway, said a town centre commemoration service to be held in May is also planned to mark the disaster.

He said: “We want to honour the lives of the dockyard workers and recognise their sacrifice.

“By involving their families and asking for any personal memories or information they might have, we hope these men will be more than just names on a war memorial.”

The Princess Irene exhibition takes place at the heritage centre in High Street, Blue Town, on Sunday, April 26.

Anyone with information relating to the tragedy or its victims, should call 01795 662981 or email cbtinfo@btconnect.com