A north MP wants to find out more about the unknown number of mothers and children who died in an explosion while aboard a Royal Navy cruiser in the Cromarty Firth in 1915.
Jamie Stone told the story of the fate of the HMS Natal during the Commons debate to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
The Liberal Democrat explained how on 30 December the families were invited by the captain to attend a film show.
They would sadly never set foot on shore again as the explosion – probably caused by unstable cordite in the magazines – ripped through the ship which sank rapidly.
A few months later, the Admiralty published a list of 390 casualties, but no mention was made of the mothers and children.
Mr Stone, who represents Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said the estimate today of the total deaths was between 390 and 421.
He told the Press and Journal he wants to fill in the gaps.
“I would like to find out more detail about the mothers and children,” he said.
“We don’t know how many there were. It’s odd how the record is so hazy. I would like that filled in.
“This was Christmas. It was a special treat for the kids.
“In Easter Ross when I was growing up, it was very vivid in people’s memory.
“This incident in my constituency, not far from my home town, underlines to me the absolute horror of the First World War.
“As time goes on, I hope that we may be able to establish some kind of memorial to the mums and children who died so cruelly and suddenly.”
Argyll and Bute MP Brendan O’Hara used his contribution to speak about his grandfather John who joined up as a 17-year-old.
While serving in France, he was stationed at Armentières and part of a group tasked with salvaging sacred relics from the bomb-damaged church of St Vaast in the town.
Their work was captured on film by war photographer David McLellan and the now well-known image was recreated last month on the exact same spot.
John survived, but Mr O’Hara said: “I have always wondered what happened to his four comrades. What fate befell them in those last awful months?”
