THE organising committee for the commemoration of the centenary of the loss of the old village of Hallsands to the sea is seeking descendants of Richard Hansford Worth.

Hallsands will have been destroyed 100 years ago on Thursday, January 26, 2017. David Marcer, organising committee, said: ‘The village was lost because dredging lowered the shingle ridge that protected the village from easterly gales.

‘The dredging began in 1897 and continued for several years under a government contract let to the Tory MP and war profiteer Sir John Jackson who took the shingle to build the Naval dockyard at Devonport.

‘In 1903 Richard Hansford Worth was appointed Honorary Engineering Advisor to the villagers and worked for them, largely unpaid, for several years. He was an energetic supporter of the villagers’ cause who made extensive surveys of the effect of the loss of the shingle.

‘Hansford Worth was the first person to analyse the shingle and to prove, contrary to what the government of the day claimed, that tidal currents could not bring in material from further out in the channel to replace it.

‘In his report to the Fisheries Commission he predicted the disaster to come, saying “unless some properly considered measures are promptly taken, houses and road alike must fall”.’

Jonathan Hale, a member of the organising committee said: ‘Richard Hansford Worth’s support was much valued, so much so that he is remembered in the name of Fordworth Cottages – the houses that were built by public subscription at North Hallsands to house those displaced from the old village.

‘We would very much welcome a descendant or representative of his family as an official guest at the commemoration service in January.’