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Shipwreck exhibition extended to tell disaster story

BBC A closeup of the bow of a model of the Solway Harvester, which is painted bright yellow but has paint chipped off the front. Its nameplate is clearly visible with Solway Harvester in black lettering.BBC
A scale model of the vessel was created for use during the inquest

An exhibition highlighting 300 years of shipwrecks in the Irish Sea has been extended by three weeks to mark the 25th anniversary of one particular maritime disaster.

The Solway Harvester, a Kirkcudbright-registered scallop dredger, sank off Douglas in 2000 with the loss of all seven crew.

The All at Sea display at Peel's House of Manannan featuring the scale model of the vessel used during the inquest into the deaths will stay on display until 26 January.

Manx National Heritage's curator of archaeology Allison Fox said while the sinking was a quarter of a century ago it was still a "very emotive object" because "families lost their boys".

A composite of pictures of the seven crew members of the Solway Harvester.
Crewmen Robin Mills, David Mills, John Murphy (top row); Andrew Mills (known as Craig), Martin Milligan, pictured with his girlfriend, Wesley Jolly, and David Lyons (bottom row) died

She said the model, which is cared for as part of the island's National Collections, had helped the inquest try to find answers and work out what happened.

She said: "We thought long and hard about whether we should include that in the exhibition.

"But we thought it was important to commemorate that event and to just remind people what a dangerous place the sea still is."

A full scale model of he scallop dredger, which is yellow with a white wheelhouse, placed on a wooden stand with a blue information board in front of it.
The exhibition will remain open to mark the 25th anniversary of the sinking on 11 January

The men, from the Isle of Whithorn area of Dumfries and Galloway, died when the vessel went down off the coast of Douglas on 11 January 2000.

Skipper Andrew Mills, 29, known as Craig, his brother Robin Mills, 33, their cousin David Mills, 17, Martin Milligan, 26, John Murphy, 22, David Lyons, 18, and Wesley Jolly, 17, died when the boat sank in heavy seas while heading for shelter in Ramsey Bay.

Ms Fox said the extension would "allow people to come in, have a look at the model and maybe just have a time of reflection there really".

A glass case holding a the medal, which has a red ribbon, mounted on a black background, along with a pamphlet outlining the case for the creation of the service.
A medal awarded to Sir William Hillary after he founded the lifeboat service is also on display

Much of the information about the shipwrecks documented in the display has been drawn from a database of more than 2,000 wreck sites in the seas around the island that was donated to Manx National Heritage.

The exhibition has been running all year to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The lifesaving organisation has its root firmly in the Isle of Man after its founder Sir William Hilary was inspired to act after witnessing various maritime disasters in Manx waters and being involved in several rescue attempts.

Items, including a large cannon ball, in a glass case along with a blue information board.
Artefacts recovered from the wreck of the Racehorse, which inspired the formation of the RNLI, also feature

Ms Fox said feedback on the exhibition had seen a strong "level of appreciation of the people involved in all the stories we're telling".

"It's been an absolute privilege to be a part of bringing these stories to a wider audience," she added.

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