Hannah Cunliffe - Historical Researcher & Maritime Consultant

Wednesday 5 November, 2008

The team from BBC Inside Out West contacted me to ask for help in making this programme, where James Redmond, Hollyoaks & Casualty actor, traces his namesake - a marine fireman from the First World War.

The first James Redmond was working on hospital ship HMS Anglia when she struck a mine 4 miles off the western entrance to Dover Harbour on 17 November 1915 at about 12.30pm. She sank  45 minutes later.  Various boats came to her rescue, but it was very difficult to get alongside her as the engines were still running.  The official verdict was that had the engines been stopped, all onboard might have been saved. 

James Redmond, fireman, lost his life in the incident and, I met his namesake, the actor, at Trinity House to show him the documents I had found and to guide him to the Tower Hill memorial, where the death of the earlier James is remembered.

View the resulting programme on BBC I-player at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2008/10/31/west_remembrance_s14_w8_feature.shtml