Shipwreck still giving up secrets 80 years on

Divers are being asked to help with the creation of a conference telling the story of a ship sunk off the coast of Cornwall.

The Plymouth-based Ships Project is asking divers to lend artefacts found while exploring the wreck of the SS James Egan Layne, which lies in Whitsand Bay.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the sinking in March 1945, the group wants to show US relatives of the crew the variety of things divers have found onboard.

They are also planning a voyage to the wreck site to raise the ship's original stars and stripes flag once again.

The wreck of the American Liberty Ship rests in just 25ft (7.5m) of water near the Rame Peninsula, making it one of the most accessible and most dived wrecks in the UK.

The Ships Project divers are keen to share what they have learned about the vessel with the public.

Historian and diver Peter Holt, who is also director of the Ships Project, said so-called liberty ships transported goods needed during the Second World War.

"Because the UK is an island, everything had to come in via ship, but the Germans at the time were sinking ships far faster than we could build them," he said.

"So a [liberty ship] programme was put together to build ships in America really fast."

The Egan Layne was fully loaded with cargo when it was torpedoed near the Eddystone Rock by a German submarine.

It was limping back to Plymouth when it started to sink.

All the crew were able to evacuate the ship, including 17-year-old Earl George Blache, who later shared the tale with his grandson Glen in America.

Mr Blache said: "Earl was asleep in his bunk when they were torpedoed.

"He woke up and was lodged between two pipes. He barely made it out."

Despite this, he went back to save the ship's American flag.

Mr Blache said the first mate ordered his grandfather to go and retrieve the flag.

"He said: 'No, if I'm going to get it, I'm keeping it.'"

The captain told him, whoever swims and gets it, gets to keep the flag. So he out swam the first mate."

The stars and stripes flag has been a prized possession passed down through the Blache family ever since.

The James Egan Layne sank fully loaded and close to shore so many items have has been salvaged over the years.

Diver Mallory Haas said: "Everyone's got a piece of her somewhere in their house. It would be good to see it back together."

The Ships Project is keen to find out what divers have found - but said they did not want any ammunition handed to them for safety reasons.

Anyone wanting to see the finds can go along to the Liberty 80 Conference at the University of Plymouth's Marine Station on 22 March.