A CEREMONY to mark the centenary of a First World War shipping disaster, in which almost 500 people died, has taken place on Islay.
HMS Otranto was carrying US soldiers and British crewmen when it sank off the coast of the Hebridean island in 1918 following a collision with another vessel.
Around 300 islanders and descendants of those who lost their lives gathered at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Kilchoman on Saturday.
Islay Lifeboat crew members also laid a wreath near the Otranto wreck site at Machir Bay.
Former defence secretary and Nato general-secretary Lord Robertson was among those who paid tribute to those killed. His grandfather was a police sergeant on Islay in 1918 and had “the distressing job of reporting what had happened”.
Jenni Minto, chair of WW100 Islay, said “100 years ago the people of Islay were faced with the horrors of war arriving on their shores for the second time that year.
“They worked with compassion and humanity to ensure those who survived the Otranto tragedy were cared for as though they were their own, and those who sadly died were buried with dignity and respect. Today we paid tribute to those selfless acts.”
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