By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The SS Almond Branch was sunk by a German submarine's torpedo in 1917 near Cornwall.
A British diver purchased a World War I shipwreck for £300 after spotting it on Facebook Marketplace. Dom Robinson, a project manager from Plymouth, discovered the listing for the SS Almond Branch, a 3,300-ton, 330-foot-long cargo ship that sank off the coast of Cornwall during World War I. According to BBC News, Robinson bought the wreck from someone who had previously purchased the scrap from the British government in the 1970s.
In an interview with BBC Radio Cornwall, Robinson revealed that the previous owner had hoped to find valuable items but only found "a large pile of rusty iron." Robinson, an amateur diver, was eager to acquire the shipwreck due to his passion for sea exploration and shipwrecks.
"It feels a bit different when you're diving a wreck, and you know that you have a sense of ownership of it," Robinson said. He added, "If someone finds the bell, they must report it to the Receiver of Wreck, who will ask me if I want to keep it or not."
The SS Almond Branch was an armed British merchant ship launched in 1896. It was reportedly sunk by a German submarine's torpedo on November 27, 1917, near Dodman Point in South Cornwall. The ship has remained submerged beneath the Atlantic Ocean since then.
Robinson has previously visited the wreck site, which only fueled his interest in exploring it further. He has no intention of reselling the vessel. Although there is nothing of monetary value to be gained from the wreck, Robinson hopes to find the ship's bell.
"I just went along and kind of kicked the tyres, and I sucked my teeth, and I knew what it was," he said, sharing his excitement about the unique deal. Robinson was stunned when he saw the SS Almond Branch being advertised on Facebook Marketplace, where the platform often features unique and unexpected items ranging from antique lamps to burned used cars.
"Plymouth Sound is literally littered with wrecks... and there will be more to be found," said Professor Michael Williams, a specialist in underwater heritage. He noted that there are "tens of thousands" of shipwrecks in Devon and Cornwall, with thousands more located in the waters around the United Kingdom.
