THE story of the wreckage of the First World War hospital ship SS Rohilla, with the deaths of 83 people, will be told by Dorothy Brownlee, at the Friends of Beamish Museum meeting, on Friday.

Mrs Brownlee is the granddaughter of a Tynemouth lifeboat volunteer whose crew was summoned to help assist at the scene, off the coast of Whitby, where the Rohilla had run aground.

The Tynemouth crew made a difficult 44-mile voyage in stormy seas to help rescue a number of casualties from the stricken vessel, in October 1914.

Friends’ group Friday Meetings are usually held in the Collections’ Study Room, at the museum’s Regional Resource Centre, at Fouldbridge.

Admission is via the Fouldbridge workshop entrance, between 7.15pm and 8pm, when the meeting starts.

Friends’ group membership cards should be taken. There is a £1 charge, inclusive of refreshments.

Further details are available from the Friends’ office, on 0191-370 1104, which has answerphone capabilities.