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On 7 May 1915, Thomas Woods, a fisherman from the Isle of Man, was alone on the deck of his boat.

He was fishing with a crew of seven near the south coast of Ireland when he witnessed one of the most brutal attacks on civilians during World War One.

"We saw an awful sight on Friday," he wrote in a letter home.
"We saw the sinking of the Lusitania, and we were the only boat about at the time. I never want to see the like again. The saddest sight I ever saw in all my life. "

A single torpedo struck and the Lusitania took 18 minutes to sink. It was carrying more than 2,000 passengers from New York to Liverpool.

Mr Wood and his crew set about a rescue attempt and managed to pull about 150 people to safety.

鈥淭he crew had to wait for two hours before any help came. If the crew had not have been so brave, all the lives would have been lost," wrote Woods.

The impact of the Lusitania's tragic end was huge and as thousands mourned, riots broke out but very little was ever mentioned of the Wanderer and the heroics of the Manx fishermen.

Location: Isle of Man, Heathfield Drive IM5 1DP
Image: A plaque in memory of the Wanderer fishermen

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