HMS Dasher (D37)

Le HMS Dasher (D37) est un porte-avions d'escorte britannique de la classe Avenger durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Comme les autres porte-avions de sa classe, il est issu d'un cargo américain de type C3 transformé fin 1941 et il est transféré à la Royal Navy en juillet 1942. Il coule le 27 mars 1943 dans le Firth of Clyde, au sud-ouest de l'Écosse, à la suite d'une explosion accidentelle encore mal expliquée aujourd'hui, tuant 379 des 528 marins à bord.

Nearby Places View Menu

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles and is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsula. The Firth lies between West Dunbartonshire in the north, Argyll and Bute in the west, and Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. The Kyles of Bute separates the Isle of Bute from the Cowal Peninsula. The Sound of Bute separates the islands of Bute and Arran. The Highland Boundary Fault crosses the Firth. The Firth also played a vital military role during World War II. The Firth is sometimes called the Clyde Waters or Clyde Sea. It is customarily considered to be part of the Irish Sea.

North Ayrshire and Arran

North Ayrshire and Arran is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post voting system of voting. Once a longtime Conservative stronghold, the area had been represented by Labour MPs from 1987 until 2015. Patricia Gibson, held the seat as an SNP member from 2015 to 2024. In 2024 the seat was won by Irene Campbell of Labour. It contains the towns of Largs, Fairlie and West Kilbride to the north, as well as the towns of Ardrossan, Kilbirnie, the Garnock Valley, Kilwinning, Saltcoats and Stevenston to the south. The Isle of Arran and Great Cumbrae are also within the constituency.

Portencross Castle

Portencross Castle, also known historically as Portincross Castle, is situated in Portencross, on the west coast of Scotland, about 3 km from West Kilbride. The site has been fortified since the 11th Century. The present tower castle is thought to date from the mid-14th Century and later. It remained in use until it was unroofed by a great storm in 1739 and gradually became ruinous. The castle was designated as a scheduled monument in 1955. The castle was one of the buildings featured in the 2004 series of the BBC television programme Restoration and was the subject of efforts by a local community group to secure its future.

Portencross

Portencross (Scottish Gaelic: Port na Crois) is a hamlet near Farland Head in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Situated about three kilometres (two miles) west of Seamill and about two kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) south of Hunterston B nuclear power station, it is noted for Portencross Castle. It has two harbours and a pier. The "Old Harbour" is actually a small tidal inlet next to the castle, and is part of the castle property. The larger harbour, "North Harbour", owned by the Portencross Harbour Trust, lies about 100 m (110 yd) north of the castle and was the main access point for fishing activity. The Portencross Pier was built in the era of Clyde steamer cruising but was never used as much as other locations such as Largs, Fairlie or Wemyss Bay.

5.0 km

Murder of Mary Speir Gunn

Mary Speir Gunn (31 August 1862 – 18 October 1913) was murdered in a shooting attack at the isolated Northbank Cottage near Portencross in North Ayrshire, Scotland on the evening of Saturday, 18 October 1913. Six shots were fired through the living-room window at night. Three shots struck Mary Gunn, the fatal one piercing her heart. Two shots hit her sister Jessie McLaren, who collapsed with a bullet lodged in her back, but she survived the attack. Jessie's husband, Alexander McLaren, was injured in the index finger of his left hand. Newspapers described the murder at the time as "a terrible and most mysterious tragedy". Nobody was charged or prosecuted for the crime, which remains an unsolved murder.