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The third Carley float had about 40 men in it when it left the sinking ship, and another 30 were picked up from the water. Not all crew were wearing their life preservers and it is reported that as the raft couldn’t hold the number of men now on it, an officer ordered those men wearing life preservers to enter the water and swim for shore. None survived. Almost four hours later, when the raft finally surged up on to the rocks, there were only six men left alive on it.

The subsequent search at sea in the days that followed located 13 mines in the vicinity of the wreck site, laid at a depth of 3 to 9 metres – deep enough to let smaller vessels such as fishing boats sail over the top of them and designed to catch only the bigger vessels. On 22 June 1916, a Royal Navy minesweeper, HM Drifter Laurel Crown, hit a mine in the same minefield as she was sweeping, and sank with the loss of nine of her crew.

It was later revealed that 34 mines had been laid by the German submarine U 75 on 29 May as part of German plans for what had developed into the Battle of Jutland. The German High Seas Fleet had put to sea to lure the British Battlecruiser Fleet out of its anchorage in the Firth of Forth. Anticipating that the main elements of the British Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow would also put to sea, German submarines would be waiting for it. Three minelaying submarines, including U 75, were also sent out to mine the likely areas the British fleet would pass – and German intelligence was aware of the route that would tragically be used by the Hampshire. U 75 sailed from Germany two days before Jellicoe even knew of Lord Kitchener’s proposed journey.