A memorial service was held at Blyth beach yesterday (Thurs) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a tragic accident which took the lives of nine soldiers.
Northumberland County Council’s Civic Head, Coun Anthony Murray, attended the ceremony at the beach, where a floral display has been planted and Blue plaque unveiled to mark the occasion.
On August 24 1917 soldiers from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment were tasked with marching along the coast at Blyth, before partaking in a “bathing parade”.
Exhausted and hit by the heat of the sun, the men, many of whom had never been in the sea before, quickly got into trouble.
And despite the efforts of their comrades, who formed a chain of hands, nine men, all under the age of 25, lost their lives.
Blyth Battery museum and Blyth Town Council organised the memorial service inviting relatives of the nine men who lost their lives.