Harland and Wolff - Shipbuilding and Engineering Works

James Joseph Dempsey
	Occupation
	Regiment	Royal Irish Rifles "A" Company 1st Battalion
	Service No. - Rank	8625 - Rifleman
	Date of Death	25th February 1917 aged 36
	Buried	Bray Military Cemetery,Somme, France II. C. 27.
	Remembered
	CWGC Certificate	Click to Download
	Son of James and Catherine Dempsey, of Belfast; husband of Lizzie Dempsey, of 31, English St., Belfast.

Factoids

No. 17 - Runic On 6 December 1917, Runic (ship No.211) as Imo made history when she collided with the French Line's Mont Blanc in Halifax harbour. Mont Blanc, carrying 2800 tons (2545 metric tons) of munitions, exploded, setting off what has been called "the largest manmade explosion … before the first atomic bomb." The blast wiped out the Richmond district of the city in a blast felt up to 270 miles (430 km) away. The casualty figures were astounding: at least 1600 killed, up to 2000 more missing and never found, 9000 injured, 25,000 at least temporarily homeless. In all, over 1600 buildings in a 16 mile (26 km) radius were destroyed and 12,000 more were damaged. The total property loss was estimated at $35,000,000. The explosion also caused a 13 foot (3.96 m) tidal wave that destroyed buildings and damaged warships designed to withstand enemy attack.

Popular Pages

Company Timeline

Ships in Focus - Highland Monarch

The Govan Yard

Advanced Ship Search

Sea Quest

There are currently 354 Users Online

Snippets