MONMOUTH Museum is looking to secure funds to restore a commemorative World War One banner which recognises a warship named after the town.

It was produced as a memorial to a 15-year-old sailor who was lost, along with 734 others, on HMS Monmouth after it capsized in the Battle of Coronel off the Chilean coast in November 1914.

Now Monmouthshire Museums Development Trust is looking to secure £2,000 to help to fully restore it. It has been in Monmouth Museum’s hands since October 1993.

In spite of his age, Midshipman Gervase Ronald Bruce was on the ship legitimately. He had attended the Royal Naval College Osborne on the Isle of Wight and then the Royal Navy College in Dartmouth in August 1914.

He was one of 1,570 British men killed in the battle and two armoured cruisers were lost. Only three German soldiers were wounded.

Museum staff have delved into the boy’s history and found the flag was previously at his school, Stone House in Broadstairs, Kent.

And an event will be held at the museum to raise money for the fundraising pot in a few weeks’ time. Currently Monmouthshire Museums Development Trust’s collection for the restoration project stands at £500.

The museum makes up a third of the Free Press campaign to protect the county’s leading museums in Chepstow, Monmouth and Abergavenny and to get 500 people to sign up as supporters.

And author Steve Dunn will be donating his time for the event at the museum on Priory Street on April 14 and talking about his book, The Coward? The Rise and Fall of the Silver King.

The book looks at the impact of Rear Admiral Ernest Troubridge, who has divided opinion about his role in the First World War.

He was a rising star as World War One started, commanding the 1st Cruiser Squadron and heading into battle with the German cruiser Goeben in the Mediterranean Sea just a few days into the conflict. He signalled his intention to fight the enemy ship but he suddenly changed his mind and turned the ship away. He received a court martial and lived in social disgrace. He died in France in 1926.

Tickets, which cost £5, are available from the museum. For more information call 01600 710630.

To support the museums’ supporters campaign, where individuals are asked to pledge £15 or couples £25, email supportmuseums@monmouthshire.co.uk.

More information can be found on the scheme’s Facebook page and on its Twitter page, @SupportMuseums.