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The submarine E49 (it had no other name) sank 100 years ago to the day, and almost to the hour. It was leaving the pier at Baltasound and hit a mine laid by a German mine-laying submarine. All 31 members of the crew were lost. The wreck, which had been declared a war-grave, was lost until it was discovered by members of Shetland Subaqua Club in 1988.

The idea for a memorial plaque, installed by Shetland Amenity Trust, came from an idea from former island PC Harry Edwards. It is placed in Baltasound, next to Bobby's Bus Shelter, and overlooking the south mouth of the entrance to the harbour at Baltasound. The unveiling, on a damp Sunday in March, was attended by members of the Royal Navy, relatives of some of the seamen lost in the sinking, the Shetland and Orkney MP Alastair Carmichael, the Lord-Lieutenant of Shetland John Scott and dozens of members of the public, both from the island and from elsewhere in Shetland.