Hampshire diver buys World War 1 shipwreck

Tindle News

A diver bought a shipwreck from World War One on Facebook Marketplace for £300 - because he "fancied" it. Dom Robinson, 53, first found a passion for exploring shipwrecks as a child and has been diving for over 40 years. He has identified 20 to 25 shipwrecks over the years and loves the history that goes with them. Dom came across an advert on Facebook marketplace in January 2025 for the shipwreck, the SS Almond Branch, and decided to go for it. He bought it for just £300 after some haggling before diving down 50 feet to explore it.

Transcript

00:00It's not widely known, but shipwrecks always have an owner.

00:04In the UK it's possible for private individuals to buy and sell them,

00:08and I've always fancied owning one.

00:11So when I saw this advert on Facebook Marketplace, I knew that this was my opportunity.

00:16Built in 1896, the Almond branch was torpedoed on the 26th of November 1917

00:23by the very successful German submarine UB-57.

00:27Like most merchant casualties of the two world wars,

00:31the insurance claim was processed by the British government, who then went on to own the wreck.

00:36In an attempt to recoup their losses, they sold it in 1978.

00:4146 years later, the owner decided they didn't want it anymore, so put it up for sale on Facebook.

00:48£300 later, and a few messages, I became the proud owner of a 3,000 tonne shipwreck,

00:55located in 58 metres of water off the Cornish coast.

01:00Having bought it, there was only one thing to do, and that was to go and dive it.

01:05Here I am today, I'm going to dive my wreck.

01:08Yeah, yeah.

01:29Yeah.

01:30For more information visit www.fema.org

02:00For more information visit www.fema.org

02:30For more information visit www.fema.org

03:00For more information visit www.fema.org

03:30For more information visit www.fema.org

04:00For more information visit www.fema.org

04:30For more information visit www.fema.org

05:00For more information visit www.fema.org

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