Dover & Folkestone Wrecks · United Kingdom · Wreck
HMHS Anglia
An upright First World War hospital ship, now a protected wreck
HMHS Anglia is a small liner that carried wounded soldiers across the Channel as a hospital ship in the First World War until a German minefield sank her off Folkestone. Probably one of the most popular dives in the area, she is now a protected wreck and a war grave.
Also known as Anglia, Hospital Ship Anglia.
Where it is and how deep
51.0558° N, 1.3206° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Anglia lies upright in less than 30 m, with the top of the wreck typically at about 25 m. Much of the hull is broken up and level with the seabed, but some parts still stand up to 6 m high. Dinner plates marked for the London and North Western Railway, her owners before she became a hospital ship, have been found in the wreck.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Anglia
- Type
- Small liner serving as an auxiliary hospital ship
- Built
- 1900
- Sunk
- 1915
- Cause
- Struck a mine laid by the German submarine UC 5 on her port side, just forward of the bridge
- Lies
- Upright in under 30 m, top at about 25 m, much of the hull broken up and level with the seabed
Built in 1900 for the London and North Western Railway, Anglia was serving as an auxiliary hospital ship in the First World War, bringing wounded across the Channel to Dover, when she struck a mine laid by the German submarine UC 5 on 17 November 1915 and sank about a mile east of Folkestone Gate. In October 2014 there were calls for her wreck to be made a war grave, and in 2017 she was designated a vessel under schedule 1 of the Protection of Military Remains Act, which makes it illegal to remove or disturb any human remains at the site.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Dover & Folkestone Wrecks: The dive season runs May to October; some charters sail all year, but the sea feels very cold in March.
Dive videos
HMHS Anglia · 501diver on YouTube
Sources
- Dover, Wrecks and Sites — Dive125
- Maritime record - Anglia — Kent Historic Environment Record
- HMHS Anglia — Wikipedia
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