THE WRECK EXPLORERDISCOVER WHAT LIES BENEATH
WRECK DOSSIER / 001NORTH SEA · OFF SCARBOROUGH
20 DECEMBER 1914 FIRST WORLD WAR

HMT
GARMO.

The sea kept her wreck.
History remembers her crew.

EXPLORE IN 3D ↗THEN & NOW ↓
AN INTERACTIVE HISTORICAL EXPERIENCESCROLL TO DISCOVER ↓
UNDERWATER IMAGE: ARTISTIC ILLUSTRATION — NOT A PHOTOGRAPH OF GARMO
THE VESSELArmed trawlerGrimsby · GY1165
DATE OF LOSS20.12.1914Mine explosion
CREW LOSTSix menRemembered below
LOCATIONScarboroughNorth Yorkshire coast
01 / THE STORY

THE DECEMBER 1914 MINEFIELD

One moment
changed everything.

Four days after the German raid on the Yorkshire coast, the danger remained at sea. Garmo — a Grimsby fishing trawler taken into naval service — was lost on a mine off Scarborough. The story that followed was one of courage, rescue and loss.

16 DECEMBER 1914 / THE CONTEXT

A coast under fire.

A German naval raid struck Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool. Mines laid offshore would keep endangering vessels after the attack itself had ended.

01 / 04

Historical interpretation based on published naval accounts. See sources and research notes.

A MOMENT OF COURAGE
While Garmo was almost vertical in the water, a boat from HM Drifter Principal went alongside to rescue a man.

Sub-Lieutenant W. L. Scott was later commended for this dangerous rescue. The vessel overturned and sank shortly afterwards.

ACCOUNT SUMMARISED FROM THE OFFICIAL MINESWEEPING DESPATCH
02 / THEN & NOWNEW INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

ONE SHIP. TWO WORLDS.

Travel back.
Look beneath.

In 1914, she sailed on the North Sea. Today, her remaining structure lies on the seabed. Move the divider to reveal our artistic interpretation of both chapters.

EXAMINE REPORTED WRECK FEATURES ↘
CHAPTER 02 / VISUAL RECONSTRUCTIONHMT GARMO · 1914 ↔ TODAY
ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION · NOT TO SCALENORTH SEA / OFF SCARBOROUGH
THE TIME WINDOWTHEN ↔ NOW
01 / THEN1914
✧

Built for the sea.

Garmo was a Grimsby steam trawler later taken into Royal Navy service. The ship shown above is a period-inspired illustration, not an authenticated plan of Garmo.

02 / THE LOSS20 DEC 1914
✳

A mine. A rescue.

Four days after the East Coast raid, Garmo hit a mine. HM Drifter Principal went to her aid. Six crew members ultimately lost their lives.

READ THE SINKING ACCOUNT ↗
03 / NOWTHE SEABED
⌁

History in fragments.

Divers report a stern partly buried in silt, a displaced gun near the stern and an anchor winch towards the bow. Their positions here are schematic.

THEN & NOW DIAGRAM ↗

About this reconstruction: Both scenes are original digital illustrations created to tell the story. They are not historic photographs, scans, photogrammetry, surveyed positions or a claim that the vessel looked exactly as drawn. We will refine them as verified photographs and survey information become available.

03 / BELOW THE SURFACE

INTERPRETIVE WRECK STUDY

What remains
beneath the sea.

This exploratory diagram brings together reported underwater features: a stern partly in silt, a displaced gun and the anchor-winching area towards the bow. Select a feature to learn more.

INTERACTIVE SEABED STUDYSCHEMATIC / NOT TO SCALE
STERN ←→ BOW
SEABED / INTERPRETIVE PROFILE
01 / 04
REPORTED FEATURE / NEAR THE STERN

The displaced gun

Divers describe a gun lying separately on the seabed near the stern. Its position in this drawing is illustrative, not a measured location.

ⓘ

What this diagram is — and isn't. An interpretive illustration based on local diver observations supplied to The Wreck Explorer. Orientation, scale, feature identification and relative positions are not independently surveyed. Not for navigation or dive planning.

04 / IN MEMORIAMTHE HUMAN STORY BEHIND THE WRECK

Not a number
on a chart.
Six lives.

Five crewmen were lost in the sinking. Skipper Thaddeus Gilbert died of his injuries afterwards. Their names deserve to be remembered alongside the history of the vessel.

IN MEMORY · 20 DECEMBER 1914
01Thomas W. BerryAble Seaman
02Thaddeus GilbertSkipper
03John R. HareCook
04Thomas G. HarrisAble Seaman
05Walter R. SparrowDeck Hand
06Joseph W. ThorntonSecond Hand

Research note: the Royal Navy casualty list records Joseph W. Thornton, while a separate local-history account names him James Thornton. This difference remains under review; the memorial follows the naval casualty list.

THEIR NAMES REMAIN.WE REMEMBER.
NEW IN V5 / INTERACTIVE 3D EXPERIENCE

Get closer to
the unknown.

Rotate a conceptual three-dimensional wreck, inspect reported details and explore what the sea left behind. Built for touch — no downloads, logins or subscriptions.

An artistic reconstruction, not a surveyed model or safe navigation data.

ENTER THE DEEP SCAN ↗
05 / THE FIELD ARCHIVE

IMAGES / RESEARCH / LIVING MEMORY

History isn't
finished.

Every underwater photograph, dive sketch or original document can help rebuild this story. The archive is being prepared for credited community contributions.

▶
01 / FIELD FOOTAGE

See the wreck
through a diver's eyes.

Watch Garmo footage shared by Dave Herbi on YouTube.

WATCH THE VIDEO ↗
02 / PHOTOGRAPHY

The underwater
photo archive.

Real dive images and credited historic photographs are coming in a later release.

CURATION IN PROGRESS
03 / FUTURE EXPERIENCE

Reconstructing
what remains.

Our first interpretive 3D explorer is ready to try. Future versions will be refined with verified photography and surveys.

EXPLORE 3D DEEP SCAN ↗
HELP BUILD THE ARCHIVE

Have a photograph or a detail we're missing?

When submissions open, we'll be asking for original dive photos, sketches, documents and information — with clear contributor credit and permission.

SEE CONTRIBUTION PREVIEW ↗
06 / RESEARCH & ATTRIBUTION

OUR SOURCES

Follow
the evidence.

We separate historical accounts from contemporary diver observations. If new evidence changes the picture, the archive should change too.

01
Naval-History.netVessel details, loss and HM Drifter Principal rescue
↗02
Naval-History.netNamed Royal Navy casualties — December 1914
↗03
Yorkshire Coast History — David PendletonLocal research and Garmo rescue account
↗04
Scarborough Boat Angling ClubCommunity-published wreck reference position
↗

HISTORICAL EDITION · NOT A NAUTICAL CHART. Publicly listed positions may disagree and have not been independently surveyed by The Wreck Explorer. No imagery on this page is presented as a verified underwater photograph of Garmo.

THE STORY CONTINUES

There is always
more beneath.

RETURN TO THE WRECK MAP ↗
NEW CINEMATIC STORY

The Last Watch — a documentary experience

Five distinct reconstructed scenes tell the story of Garmo’s loss and rescue, with research notes alongside the film.

WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY ↗
NEXT COLLECTION — 50 SCAPA FLOW WRECK STORIES ↗