SOME progress has been made after an appeal last year in Looking Back to identify four sailors who served on HMS Genista.

The minesweeping sloop was torpedoed in the North Atlantic, on Monday, October 23, 1916, with the loss of most of the crew.

Gerry Harding of Northern Ireland and formerly of Weymouth was looking for information regarding this attached photo of four sailors.

We now know that one of the people in this photo is Richard ‘Dick’ Pitt Pearce (seated far right), Mr Harding’s uncle.

He hailed from Easton, Portland, and joined the Royal Navy in 1916 as a stoker.

His first ship was HMS Victory, based at Queenstown Co Cork. Ireland.

Mr Harding’s uncle Richard Pitt Pearce, of Portland, was one of the survivors.

HMS GenistaGenista was under the command of Lt. Cmdr. John White, who was engaged in minesweeping duties off the West Coast of Ireland.

The ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine taking with her all her officers and 73 ratings. Only 12 ratings were saved.

Since then another photo has emerged of ‘Dick’ Pitt Pearce tracked down by Kevin Ashe of Portland Bill.

He recently discovered this photo, on the right, of the Genista survivor (seated) with another sailor.

He found it on the internet on the revived Steps in Time website of old Portland pictures which has been taken on by Weymouth resident Geoff Kirby.

Kevin said: “It would be very interesting to try and find out who the other sailor is with ‘Dick’ and we are still trying to find out who the other three are in the group of four.

“The sailors on Genista were from all over the country so it could be hard to trace, but we’re desperate to find information.”

Anyone who can help should email Gerry Harding at eastonia@talktalk.net To view the old pictures, go to geoffkirby.co.uk/PortlandArchivePictures/