Hospital Ships

[Guest 2contemptable]

Does anyone know where records of hospital ships are held. Also if VAD staff were employed on board, or was they all qualified nurses as opposed to volunteers. Has anyone heard of HMHS Wanilla or something similar??

Thanks in advance.

[Spud Trevor]

Hello,

There was a hospital ship Rohilla, which ran onto rocks off Whitby, (30/10/14) I believe over 70 lives were lost. I'm not sure if this is the ship you are thinking about.

Spud

[Guest 2contemptable]

Hello Spud,

Thanks, that might well be it, the information I received related to a nurse who had served on a hospital ship, the details were "HMHS WANILLA??" The guy who gave me this was unsure as to the exact name of the vessel and so added the question marks. I of course know nothing or very little about these ships.

Decent of you to reply, and thanks again I'll have to look into it.

[Sue Light]

It was probably the 'Warilda', which was in service from 25th July 1916 until 3rd August 1918, and had accommodation for 546. She was torpedoed on the latter date, and this account is taken from 'Hospital Ships and Ambulance Trains' by John Plumridge.

'The hospital ship Warilda was torpedoed in the English Channel at 1.30 am on 3 August, 1918, when reutrning from Le Havre. Of the 471 sick and wounded on board, 439 were cot cases. The losses were very heavy - 115 patients, one nursing sister and an RAMC orderly. The rest of the patients, staff and crew were cleared from the ship within an hour. She sank 30 minutes later.'

The records of only one hospital ship exist at the National Archives, and that is the Assaye. The staff would have been mainly trained nurses of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and the Territorial Force Nursing Service, and medical officers and male orderlies of the RAMC. But it was possible that there were some untrained members of the VAD, either as permanent staff, or simply working on their passage to and from France.

Regards - Sue

[Guest 2contemptable]

Sue

Thanks very much for your reply. This certainly explains a lot and I intend to get a look at the book on hospital ships and ambulance trains. I was puzzled as to whether the staff were VAD's but you have settled that one. I will contact the Red Cross archives to see if they have the war record of the nurse who was born locally and who served on the Warilda. I am very grateful for the information you have given me.

Thanks again.

Colin

[Guest bonza]

G'day

I have the Service record of an AIF soldier which shows him embarking on "HS Wandilla" at Havre on December 10 1916 for England.

I had 'settled for' Warilda but have never been able to cross check to its log, etc.

Could anyone positively answer "Which Ship?"

ooRoo

Pat

[Guest 2contemptable]

And G'Day to you too,

Thanks for the reply, I thought that Sue had settled it. I do know that the nurse involved had served around Egypt as well as France. Unfortunately the only thing I have is anecdotal evidence from her grandson which is why I was uncertain about the ship's name. Do you happen to know the proper prefix for a hospital ship is it HMHS or simply HS?

Thanks for your reply.

[Guest bonza]

G'day Agen

HMHS, but you know how the Aussies hate to attribute anything to HM.

Only joking! It just that a poor overworked Army Clerk would try to 'save' a couple of strikes on his antiquated typewriter.

Didn't mean to be a Doubting Thomas but was hoping that the log for 10/12/16 might show that Wandilla did in fact sail Havre to England that day.

Thanks & ooRoo

Pat

And while we're on the Topic , How about a big thank you to the Army Clerks.

Here's an example of their efforts. No air-conditioned offices, no white-out, no cut, paste, delete or print buttons on the old Remingtons. No security of tenure etc etc

Here's one big Thanks, anyway

[Guest 2contemptable]

Hiya Pat,

Thanks, I'm sorry mate but I have no sympathy with the old clerks or "writers", lying around an office all day drinking tea while the real matelots are either sweating or pushing polar bears out of their way to try and get warm on deck!!

Thanks again.

[Malcolm]

Hi Pat,

Just for you 'cos I'm feeling nice.

WANDILLA / FORT ST. GEORGE / CESAREA / ARNO 1912

7,785 gross tons, length 411.3ft x beam 34.1ft, one funnel, two masts, twin screw, speed 16 knots, accommodation for 231-1st, 120-2nd and 72-3rd class passengers. Built 1912 by Beardmore & Co, Glasgow as the WANDILLA for the Adelaide SS Co., Australia, she was converted to a hospital ship in 1914. She was in the Channel 1916 and the Med in 191. 7Returned to her owners in 1918, the extension of Australian railways had made her surplus to requirements and in 1921 she was purchased by Bermuda & West Indies SS Co. and renamed FORT ST. GEORGE. Her cargo holds were replaced by water tanks to supply fresh water to hotels in Bermuda, as there was no natural water supply on the island. Fitted with accommodation for 380-1st and 50-2nd class passengers. In 1924 she collided with White Star Line's OLYMPIC and was out of service for repairs. 1935 sold to Lloyd Triestino, Trieste renamed CESAREA. 1938 renamed ARNO for same owners. In 1940 she was converted to a military hospital ship and on 10th Sep.1942 was sunk by British air attack off Tobruk. [Merchant Fleets, vol.37 by Duncan Haws]

Aye

Malcolm

[Guest 2contemptable]

Hello Malcolm,

Thanks,

That's fairly comprehensive. The nurse who had seved on board this ship was definitely in France and the Med. her grandson has photos of her enjoying time off in Egypt. She told him that the ship was involved in a collision with a destroyer and that it had also been boarded by the crew of a U-Boat at some stage. All very hairy for a hospital ship.

Thanks

2c

[Guest bonza]

Enjoy the feeling Malcolm!

Can only hope that my genuine gratitude extends the kharma.

Cannot understand why I had 'pencilled in' Warilda, 'course Sue had not then advised her "commencement date' as later that month.

Thanks again

Paddy

[Guest bonza]

G'day James Lo Malcolm

Have had another look for Wandilla on www.awm.gov.au

Co-incidently this photo in their collection refers to SS Wandilla, so the poor ole army 'Writer' may have been having 2bob each way

On this particular trip, Mar 1919, she was taking Aussie nurses from Salonika to Oz.

There may be other pics of more relevance to your mate if yo wanna search awm.

There are some 'confusing' references to Warilda & Wandilla in the online official history volume RAN. Both ships were 'lent to the Admiralty' in 1916.

If it gets too cold topside, 2, you can always try out for the stokers.

ooRoo

Paddy

[Guest 2contemptable]

Cheers Pat,

I am a tad confused myself! Still I'll get onto that site you quoted and have a rummage.

Thanks.

James

[Guest bonza]

James

Hope you haven't wasted time trawling through the AWM site for Wandilla pictures. Although there are a large number referenced, the pictures are almost exclusively of soldiers who were passengers when she was a Troop Transport.

Pat

[Guest 2contemptable]

Pat

Thanks for the tip, I have been too busy, I'm afraid the "Bosun" ( to whom I have the dubious pleasure to be married) has put her dainty foot down and has demand that I paint the port and starboard wastes AKA the living room.

Scuse my ignorance Pat but are the Ships Logs for these ships retained anywhere?

Cheers

James

[Guest bonza]

Jimmy [is it 1 or 2]

Hope you have enough red & green paint, but how are you gunner do the midship border?

The ships logs are certainly not this side of The Line. One of the PRO experts would probably know if they are 'available', your end.

Enjoy your next helping of pussers' duff.

Pat

[Guest 2contemptable]

G'Day again Pat,

She's just made me patch up the round-down, no red leading to be done yet. However on a brighter note, she has chosen an alternative to top coat grey!!

Cheers for the info on the logs. I'll have to keep on digging - no pun intended.

ta

James

[Jim Strawbridge]

SueL is normally "spot on" but may have got it wrong with the Warilda. I believe it to be a transport ship rather than a hospital ship. It was actually transporting walking (and stretcher cases) wounded home and consequently did not operate (excuse the pun) as a hospital and would have had limited nursing staff on board. It would have carried other service passengers. She mentions that a nursing sister was lost but I believe that in fact this was Violet Long, Dep.Chief Controller of the QMAAC. She ensured that the eleven WAACs in her care were safely in the lifeboats but she herself became entangled in the ropes and was crushed against the side of the ship. A valiant attempt by an officer to save her failed and she sank below the surface. The wounded would have been sufficiently recovered to be transported and it may be that VAD's were employed as basic carers with just a few nurses in case of need. But as a hospital ship I don't believe that there would have been so many QMAAC/WAAC's aboard.

[Guest Pete Wood]

Here the Warilda is described as an 'Ambulance Transport.'

[Guest Pete Wood]

The Warilda sinking story, courtesy of The Times. Note the US casualty.

[Guest Pete Wood]

I think both ships (Warilda and Wandilla) existed.

Here is a small article about the Wandilla from 1920.

[Sue Light]

SueL is normally "spot on" but may have got it wrong with the Warilda. I believe it to be a transport ship rather than a hospital ship.

Can I make an appeal for clemency please, on the grounds that I was clearly quoting John Plumridge, and not making up porkies! But I find this difference between a Hospital Ship, and Ambulance Transport, curious. The figures I gave were 439 cot cases out of 471 wounded, and the newspaper reports seem to support the fact that most of the men were immobile stretcher cases, not able to move themselves.

I wonder what the criteria were for differentiating between those who needed 'transport' and those who needed 'hospital care.' If they couldn't move themselves, then they would have needed toiletting, feeding, moving, and washing - that adds up to 'nursing.' Perhaps it comes down to the differences in the running and staffing of Australian vessels.

Sue

[Guest 2contemptable]

Sue and Jim,

Thanks very much for all the info, I bow to your superior knowledge on this subject. I will have to get back to the gentleman in question and see if he can throw any more light on this. Thanks again for the help and the phots & newspaper clips.

James.

[Guest bonza]

I wonder what the criteria were for differentiating between those who needed 'transport' and those who needed 'hospital care.' If they couldn't move themselves, then they would have needed toiletting, feeding, moving, and washing - that adds up to 'nursing.' Perhaps it comes down to the differences in the running and staffing of Australian vessels.

Sue

G'day Sue

Don't put the blame on us

Both Warilda & Wandilla were "lent to the Admiralty" in 1916 according to the Official History [Australia]

ooRoo

Pat