Divers find WWI trawler wreck

Sinking: Surprise for sub-aqua explorers hunting for sunken German U-boat

The wreck of a trawler which went down with all hands after hitting a mine during World War I has been found off the northeast coast.

The Windward Ho sank in May 1917 just three miles from Peterhead. Her crew of eight died in the incident – and now a team of divers have stumbled on the remains of the fishing boat.

For the past decade, members of the Buchan Divers sub- aqua group have been hunting for the German U-boat U-1206, which went down about eight miles south-east of Cruden Bay at the end of World War II.

They believed they had finally found the German sub – which reputedly sank because of a malfunctioning toilet – and set up a dive. But they were not in the water for long before they realised the sunken vessel was not the one they were looking for. Group

“The Windward Ho must surely have sunk in just a few minutes”

chairman Jim Burke said: “We were about a metre away from the hull. We didn't see a great deal, other than some winches, holds, a telegraph and nets. It was certainly not a sub, as we’d guessed.”

He said the Hull-registered Windward Ho was the only steam trawler recorded lost in the area.

Since the discovery, Mr Burke, 48, has traced and contacted relatives of skipper George Eddom, who diedwhenthe trawler went down – just three days before the birth of his first son. Mr Eddom’s body was pulled from the water by another fishing boat crew the day after the disaster.

A second dive on the wreck found new evidence of the mine strike.

Mr Burke said: “The propeller boss is bladeless— all the blades were neatly severed. This must have been where the mine struck her. With this much damage, the Windward Ho must surely have sunk in just a few minutes.”

Mr Burke added: “I’ve been really touched by this event, to be able to identify the relatives. It hasbeenthe most rewarding point of my wreck diving and research so far.”

The wreck has now been officially recognised by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

LONG-LOST VISITOR: Divers are hunting for a German U-boat, like the one seen at Aberdeen harbour in 1945

The Windward Ho sank after she hit a mine in 1917