hypothermia. By the end of the night 354 men had perished, with 121 survivors.
In a war overburdened with human tragedy, Laurentic’ s end might well have become a footnote, had the only loss that night been people. However, stowed in her Second Class storeroom was 44 tons of gold bullion, due to be transported to the US and Canada to help pay for Britain’ s war effort.
This hugely valuable cargo was lost only two nautical miles from the mouth of Lough Swilly and in shallow water. It was irresistible to the British government, who set up the first Royal Navy salvage dive team and spent seven years lifting the gold. By the time operations were concluded, divers had recovered all but 25 ingots from a cargo of 3,211 – and with no diving fatalities.
Golden activities
In 2026 Milton Keynes Sub-Aqua Club turned 50, and proposed a variety of activities to mark the milestone. I decided that a wreck once loaded with gold seemed a fitting ambition for the club’ s golden anniversary.
The charter for my Laurentic trip was Rosguill, skippered by Michael McVeigh, based near Downings in Donegal. Matt Cross, Graham Nurse and I travelled up via Holyhead and Dublin to the delightful
Post-dive expedition team members
hillside B & B run by Michael and his wife Heather. In short order we would meet Rab Huxley of Lisburn Sub-Aqua Club, who had pulled out all the stops and enlisted Rick Beckwith, a member of Castlereagh BSAC and ex-Harland and Wolff employee – a real fountain of knowledge on shipbuilding and Belfast history. The remaining divers who came forward to fill the spaces were affiliated to Oceanauts Diving in
Warrenpoint, run by Dain McParland.
The skipper had warned from the outset that sea conditions in this part of the world could be tempestuous – with Atlantic swells quickly making diving impossible if the wind was a westerly. He had wisely advised four days in Donegal, with two earmarked for an attempt at Laurentic. So it was that we had the first two days based well and truly on land while the westerly winds blew.
Laurentic now – a football pitch of metal
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