As part of its Remembrance commemorations, the Ramsey branch of the Royal British Legion has put on a Royal Navy themed exhibition in the town’s Courthouse.

It includes photographs and information documenting the Battle of the River Plate, the first naval battle of the Second World War, and the famous hunting and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck following the Battle of the Denmark Strait.

One Manxman, Ian ’Roy’ Wilkinson of Onchan, links both of these battles.

He served on the HMS Prince of Wales during the action against the Bismarck, and the HMS Exeter, which was heavily involved in the Battle of the River Plate.

He ultimately survived the sinking of both these ships by the Japanese Navy, and after the sinking of the Exeter during the Second Battle of the Java Sea in 1942 he was taken prisoner by the Japanese.

About a quarter of Exeter’s crew died in captivity, but Ian survived the war, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He went on to work for the Dowty engineering firm in Onchan.

The Ramsey British Legion is appealing for any relatives of Ian Wilkinson to get in contact, or anyone else with information about him.

Ramsey man John Hubert Alistair Scott-Kerr lost his life when the HMS Hood was sank by the Bismarck, having also previously served on the Exeter at the Battle of the River Plate.

On board HMS Dorsetshire, the destroyer that fired the torpedoes that finally sank the Bismarck were EL McKibbin of Douglas, AED Hotchkiss of Onchan and R Cregeen of Port Erin.

In another Manx connection, Captain FS Bell, Commander of the Exeter during the Battle of the River Plate, was also the commanding officer at HMS St George, which was the Royal Navy’s only continuous shore training establishment, located at Ballakermeen High School in Douglas, with cadets billeted at Cunningham’s Camp.

The exhibition is also commemorating the island’s loss of life in the sinking of the battleship HMS Goliath at Gallipoli during the First World War, during which 13 Manxmen were killed - including five from Ramsey. Daniel Stephen Graham, Daniel Kinrade, John T Corkish, John James McCormick and James Quayle are memorialised on the town’s war memorial next to the Courthouse. The memorial itself also recently marked its 100th anniversary, having been dedicated on September 20, 1920.

Anyone with information or relatives of Ian Wilkinson can email Alby Oldham from the Ramsey British Legion at [email protected]

The exhibition is open until November 11.