The island was too isolated to play any role in the First World War and only played a minimal one during the Second World War. The oil tanker RFA ''Darkdale'' was sunk by the  in James Bay on 22 October 1941 with only nine of the 50-man crew surviving. She had been sent to St Helena a few months earlier to refuel ships operating in the South Atlantic. The wreck leaked small amounts of oil until its gradual deterioration caused the Ministry of Defence to send a team of divers to pump out all the remaining oil in June 2015.