The wreck of the LYCIA lies in 90m of water and is orientated 175 (bow)/ 355(stern). The wreck is upright on the seabed and is 91m in length and 13m wide. The stern section has collapsed to the seabed. There is a hole in the starboard side of No. 1 hold (McCartney, 2022: 167).
The wreck was originally identified by the UKHO as the BOLTONHALL (NPRN 516158). Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 167) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University in May 2017, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the LYCIA. The record has been updated to reflect that new research.
Event and Historical Information:
The LYCIA (ex OCEANO) was built by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co, Middlesbrough, in 1896 (yard number 428). Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2715gt, 1739nt; 308ft long x 43ft 3in breadth x 14ft 8in depth; 1 deck, 5 bulkheads, passenger deck 31ft, boat deck 74ft, forecastle 35ft; screw propulsion powered by two steam boilers linked to a triple expansion engine; machinery by North-East Marine Engineering Company Ltd, Newcastle; official number 106521. The steamship was supplied new to Gellatly, Hankey & Company, registered at Rochester and called OCEANO. The vessel was bought by the Cunard Shipping Company Ltd in 1909, and the name changed to LYCIA.
On 11 February 1917, the steamship was on passage from Genoa to Swansea and Liverpool when it was fired upon by the German submarine UC65 near the entrance to the St George's Channel. The LYCIA was only lightly armed with a gun on her poop deck of light calibre and a very old Russian field gun on a new mounting. The inquest into the death of Quartermaster Frederick Stephen who died in hospital from a head wound after the crew had landed was reported in local papers. Joseph Robinson, the chief officer, stated that - 'The ship was not torpedoed. She was sunk bombs. We engaged the enemy, but they were too much for us. While it lasted, about twenty minutes, the action was very hot, and eventually, our captain decided to abandon the vessel. Tennant was struck in the spine the result of one of the shells taking effect. The commander of the submarine gave us ample time to get dear with the boats. He was honourable enemy." Frederick Tennant, Able Seaman, is commemorated in Bootle Cemetery. The ship was abandoned by the crew whilst the enemy placed explosive scuttling charges on board. The crew were picked up by two Royal Navy mine sweepers and the steamship IRELAND MOOR, and were landed at Holyhead. The loss location was given as 5.5 miles southwest of St David's Head (Larn) or 20 miles northeast by north from the South Bishop (HMSO).
Sources include:
Aberdeen Evening Express, Tuesday 13 February 1917, p.3
Able Seaman F Tennant, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Cambria Daily Leader, 13 February 1917, p.1
Y Drafod, 16 February 1917, p.4
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p.103
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p.32
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Liverpool Echo, Tuesday 20 February 1917, p.5
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1917, p.11 (i)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping 1 July 1915 - 30 June 1916, number 1076 in L
McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea
UKHO ID 9909: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, November 2023.
This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project ‘Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales’. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.