Current Information:

HMS Princess Irene

Launched in 1914, Princess Irene was intended as a passenger ship for Canadian Pacific Railway, but with the outbreak of war in she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and converted into a mine layer.

On 27 May, 1915 she was moored in the Medway, being loaded with mines when a terrific explosion ripped the ship apart and sent columns of smoke, fire and debris rose over 1000 feet above the scene. A total of 352 people were killed. These included all the crew then aboard except one and a number of civilian dockyard workers who were working aboard the ship. Nearly 40 of those killed were from London.