One hundred years ago, to date, Alfred Williams was among 70 Maltese men aboard the armed steamer HMS Louvain, which was headed to Greece and to disaster.

Alfred Williams (left) practising his favourite sport with a friend.Alfred Williams (left) practising his favourite sport with a friend.

Little did Mr Williams, 23, know the vessel, carrying mail and men, would be torpedoed the day after and he would perish in what will be remembered as Malta’s worst naval disaster.

His wife Giuseppa, of Valletta, who was pregnant with their only child, remained in love and never remarried. Born almost nine months after the tragedy, their son was called after him and he, too, served with the Royal Navy in World War II.

“My grandma used to speak of how tall and smart my grand-father Alfred was. She repeated these words throughout her life until she passed away aged almost 90,” her grandson, Dominic Williams, recalled.

“She was certainly still in love with him because she remained a widow for the rest of her life.”

The late Alfred Williams, who was survived by his parents and two sisters, grew up in Valletta.

Life there at the beginning of the century was tough and there were not too many job opportunities for the younger generations.

Most young men joined the military services.

“My grandfather was nothing different, so when he received the news that grandma was expecting a child, he immediately joined the Royal Navy on January 14, 1918 and embarked on the HMS Louvain a few days later,” Mr Williams said ahead of a commemorative service on Saturday (tomorrow).

The commemoration by the Msida Sea Scouts, the Royal Naval Association in Malta and the Glarac Association Malta will be held at 10am in Msida.

The Glarac Association is chaired by Salvu Azzopardi, a retired teacher with a passion for history. He organises a yearly service of remembrance for all the men who died on the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her two destroyer escorts, HMS Ardent and HMS Acasta. More than 50 of the 1,531 lives lost in the attack on the aircraft carrier were Maltese, making it the worst tragedy for Malta during World War II.

Mr Azzopardi came across the story of HMS Louvain by accident.

In one of his articles about HMS Glorious, he left out the words “World War II” when he referred to it as Malta’s worst and a Times of Malta reader immediately pointed out that the island’s worst naval disaster was that involving HMS Louvain.

He soon learnt that a friend had lost his grandfather – Spirideone Farrugia – when the vessel was torpedoed on January 20 by an Imperial German Navy submarine. There were about 228 men on board at the time of the sinking, with only about 16 survivors.

Over 70 of the lost men were Maltese sailors.

Built in 1897, HMS Louvain was initially named SS Dresden and operated as an passenger ship until 1915, when the Royal Navy renamed her and used her mainly as an armed boarding steamer ferrying men and mail around different ports in the Mediterranean.

Tomorrow, the Msida Sea Scouts will mount a guard of honour around the navy memorial, in Msida gardens (the former Torpedo Depot).

Following prayers, a minute's silence will be observed.

Those who lost a relative on HMS Louvain may contact Mr Azzopardi on salvuazz@hotmail.com.

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