ANYONE who has ever embarked on a programme of serious investigation will tell you that it can be the most frustrating business.

It's a bit like angling. There can be hours between bites and even when the float dips, there's no guarantee of landing a fish. Yet sometimes, a line cast into unknown waters can connect with all manner of strange happenings and coincidences.

Take this, for example. For some time, I have been communicating with a relative, seeking information about an ancestor who was killed at sea in the closing stages of the First World War. His subsequent inquiries quite by chance brought him into contact with an author who is researching a book on the disaster in question. This writer has now contacted me.

But first, a bit of background. On October 10, 1918 just one month before the end of the war the mail boat RMS Leinster was sunk by three torpedoes fired by the German submarine UB-123.

It was Ireland's greatest maritime disaster. Occurring within sight of Dublin, off Kingstown, which is now Dun Laoghaire, the sinking claimed the lives of 500 of the 771 occupants. Among the casualties was one of my great-uncles, Sgt Alfred George Phillpott, of 3rd Btn The Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

He was below decks with his wife Minnie when the second torpedo hit the Leinster amidships. The ship went down in minutes, dragging scores of people to their doom. My relatives' bodies were never found.

The First World War was to end four weeks later. But although the Germans had sued for an armistice three days earlier, the U-boat war carried on right until the bitter end.

The mail boats were increasingly being regarded as legitimate targets, for they were often requisitioned for troop transport. This had included rushing troops and munitions from Liverpool to suppress the Easter Rebellion in 1916.

Demands for an inquiry into the sinking of the Leinster were refused. Only basic investigations followed and the findings were censored.

A man called Roy Stokes has written a book entitled Death In The Irish Sea and now another writer, Philip Lecane has contacted me with a view to finding out as much as he can about the passengers on the ship.

He is particularly anxious to glean as much information as possible about Worcestershire soldiers who perished in those icy waters nearly 83 years ago.

I will now relate what is known about these men, all members of the Worcestershire Regiment, and, before we go any further, I will give Mr Lecane's address.

If you are related to any of these men, or have any information that might be of some use, please contact Philip Lecane at 77 Windsor Drive, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland e-mail philip.lecane@comhairle.ie

The 1st (Reserve) Garrison Btn the Worcestershire Regiment was formed at Portsmouth and this means that these soldiers may not necessarily have county connections. A number were on board the Leinster and here are their details.

Pte William Henry Colwill, born Swansea; Pte Charles John Evans, born in Gloucester, raised in Bristol; Pte George Hyett, born Mitcheldean, Glos; and 2nd Lt Thomas Hedworth (no other details known). Apart from Colwill, whose regiment is recorded as being the Worcestershire Regiment, the others belonged to 1st (Garrison) Btn Worcestershire Regiment.

This battalion was formed at Portmouth in January 1916. In 1917, they transferred to Ryde, Isle Of Wight. In January 1918, they returned to Portsmouth, and in June of that year were stationed in Dublin.

The men on the Leinster were probably going home on leave. Two men from the battalion who survived the sinking were Pte A Yates and Cpl M Jones.

Mr Lecane is a member of the Western Front Association and also a committee member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association. He tells me that there was a soldier of this regiment who had Worcestershire connections L Cpl Michael Donnelly, who was killed in action on September 9, 1916, aged 34.

He was born in Worcester to Michael and Mary Anne Donnelly, and enlisted at Cardiff. L Cpl Donnelly is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, the imposing monument to the missing of the Somme.

Mr Lecane intends to devote much of his forthcoming book on the passengers and crew of the Leinster. In his letter, he appealed for background information on the men mentioned, or indeed anyone else who was on the ship. All help given will be acknowledged in his book.

He is an authority on certain aspects of the First World War, particularly the involvement of the Irish. There was no conscription in Ireland, but nevertheless, thousands flocked to the colours. Despite much unrest throughout the country before and during the war years, many men stayed loyal to Britain.

The bravery and sacrifice of the Irish soldiers who fought on the Western Front is incalculable. At Messines, on the Ypres Salient, there is a monument to the thousands who were killed during four years of bloody struggle. I have visited this memorial, which lies between the Messines Ridge and Plugstreet (Ploegsteert) Wood, scene of much desperate fighting.

The memorial was opened by the Queen and representatives of the Irish Parliament three years ago, specifically to recognise the contribution by the sons of Ireland to the defence of the British Empire during the war that was supposed to end all wars.

Mr Lecane tells me that the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association has an excellent website at www.greatwar.ie and at the end of this month, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland will officially launch the website at a reception in Dublin Castle.

One of the aims of the association is to promote greater understanding between Ireland, North and South, and between Ireland and Great Britain based on these two countries' common sacrifice during the First World War.

My interest in the disaster has grown over the years, partly because of other research I have been undertaking into the life and times of my great-uncle's brother, who, as regular readers of the Phillpott File will know, was an Old Contemptible and saw much action during the 1914 campaign.

I have been following his bootsteps for four years now, an odyssey which has taken me from Mons to Ypres, Albert to Bapaume and a myriad of other sites on the old battle lines of 1914-18.

And at some stage this year, I intend to complete this voyage of discovery with a trip to Chemin Des Dames in the valley of the Aisne, taking in the rivers Marne and Ourq en route. Then... and only then will I begin to assemble what I hope will ultimately be a book about my quest.

But in the meantime, it looks as if my Irish friend will arrive at the publisher's door before me. I wish him every success, as I am sure you do, too. So, if you have any information on the men who died on the Leinster, don't write to me... just tell the man from the Emerald Isle.