PLANS are ramping up ahead of the Salcombe Lifeboat Disaster centenary, commemorating 100 years since the tragedy.

To mark a century since thirteen of the fifteen man crew of the William and Emma were drowned trying to cross the bar on October 27, 1916, one of the memorial stones has been placed at Bolt Head, overlooking the bar, and a lifeboat corner has been set up in Holy Trinity Church.

The second memorial stone, both of which were carved by Salcombe sculptor Jim Martins, is on display outside the Harbour Office in Salcombe and will be positioned in due course on the coast path at the other end of the Bar just above Limebury.

On the centenary day, Thursday, October 27, at 10am, a Service of Commemoration will take place at Holy Trinity Church, led by the Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev Nick McKinnel.

At 12.15pm, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place just inside the bar with a flotilla of six lifeboats, old and new, including decommissioned lifeboats ‘City of Bradford III’ that served on the Humber 1954-1977 and Lytham St Annes 1978-1985, ‘Samuel & Marie Parkhouse’, now named ‘Onoros’, which served in Salcombe 1938-1962 and ‘Mary Irene Miller’, which served in Port Patrick 1989-2011.

The signal to begin the ceremony will be a 13 gun salute from HMS Sutherland. The type 23 frigate will position herself as close as possible to the location where the 1916 crew capsized and fire a shot for every life lost.

After the ceremony all participating lifeboats will process up harbour to Whitestrand with a lone Piper aboard Salcombe Lifeboat ‘The Baltic Exchange III’.

A spokesman for Salcombe RNLI said: ‘Boat owners are welcome to witness the wreath laying ceremony from the water, however we do request that you remain a respectable distance from the main ceremony and do not impede the passage of the small flotilla of lifeboats as it makes its way to and from the event.’

Mrs Angela Yeoman has kindly agreed to open her garden at “The Bolt”, South Sands from 11.45am to those who wish to watch the wreath laying ceremony from the shoreline. For more information visit the website: salcombelifeboat.co.uk/lifeboat-disaster-centenary/

The headstones of the men who were killed in the disaster have been cleaned by Adrian Munday and they have been labelled with photos, so they are easily spotted if people visit Shadycombe Cemetery.

Salcombe RNLI anticipate in excess of 100 descendants of the crew will attend the commemoration, with some coming as far as New Zealand.

On the other side of the pond in Los Angeles, USA, a group of musicians, based in LA but with connections to Salcombe, have written music dedicated to the memory of the 1916 crew and will be performing a one off rendition ’The Ballad of William and Emma’ on Sunday, October 23.

Included within the group of musicians performing are Kerenza Peacock, who is on tour with Adele, and J’Anna Jacoby who regularly plays with Rod Stewart.