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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Ships Olympia and Novara


TTracer44

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Looking for images of these two ships, according to Coldstream Guards 1914-1918 by ( Sir John Ross of Bladensburg) the Olympia and Novara embarked with 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards and Irish Guards 12th August 1914, Googled these and is all I get is the Olympic and an Austrian ship that wasn’t completed until Jan 1915, so no help there, any help greatly appreciated.

Den

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Here's a possibility: 

https://wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/greatwar-day-by-day/viewday.php?day=&mth=August&year= (scroll down to Olympia),

and:

http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=9435

The War Diaries of the two battalions might mention the ships, but I can't find them.

Acknown

Edited by Acknown
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Thanks Chris and Acknown at least you have proved they existed, I couldn’t find any references at all.

Den

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TTracer44,

 

These two seem to fit your timeline:

 

Novara built 1912, 6,850 tons, Pacific & Orient, employed as transport 8 August 1914 to 29 August 1914.

Olympia built 1902, 5,138 tons, Anchor Line, employed as troop transport 6 August 1914 to 24 August 1914. 

 

Mike

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TTracer44,

 

The 2nd Bn Royal Sussex Regt. was in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Divn of the BEF and their War Diary recounts (verbatim)

 

12 Aug.   The Bn entrained in two parties from Woking Station to Southampton at 11:30 am and 12:40 pm.

                The first party embarked on S.S. Olympia with half Battalion of Coldstream Guards and General Head Qrs, 

                Intelligence Corps. The boat sailed at 8:20 pm for Havre.

 

Definitely the Olympia, not Olympic.

 

Regards,

JMB

 

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14 hours ago, MKC said:

TTracer44,

 

These two seem to fit your timeline:

 

Novara built 1912, 6,850 tons, Pacific & Orient, employed as transport 8 August 1914 to 29 August 1914.

Olympia built 1902, 5,138 tons, Anchor Line, employed as troop transport 6 August 1914 to 24 August 1914. 

 

Mike

Thanks Mike, that’s brilliant, from your info it would appear the MOD only employed these ships for a short duration in order to get this large amount of men and equipment over to France and Belgium, then the initial pressure is off.

Den

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14 hours ago, JMB1943 said:

TTracer44,

 

The 2nd Bn Royal Sussex Regt. was in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Divn of the BEF and their War Diary recounts (verbatim)

 

12 Aug.   The Bn entrained in two parties from Woking Station to Southampton at 11:30 am and 12:40 pm.

                The first party embarked on S.S. Olympia with half Battalion of Coldstream Guards and General Head Qrs, 

                Intelligence Corps. The boat sailed at 8:20 pm for Havre.

 

Definitely the Olympia, not Olympic.

 

Regards,

JMB

 

Thanks JMB, that is the sort of snippet that adds those little extra bits of info, ie the sailing time, most appreciated.

Den

 

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Kipling in Vol 1 of 'The History of the Irish Guards in the Great War' tells us that details of 1 Irish Guards left Southampton at 7pm on 12 August 1914 on board the P&O SS Novara.

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On 29/12/2018 at 14:25, 58 Div Mule said:

Kipling in Vol 1 of 'The History of the Irish Guards in the Great War' tells us that details of 1 Irish Guards left Southampton at 7pm on 12 August 1914 on board the P&O SS Novara.

Thanks for that extra bit of info, so from this and JMB’s snippet on the Olympia can we assume the other half Battalion of Coldstream Guards were on the Novara with the Irish Guards, it would seem to add up. Well what a result from a request for info on two ships, thanks to all who contributed.

Den

Edited by TTracer44
Mistake on spelling of Novara
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  • 3 years later...
On 28/12/2018 at 17:05, MKC said:

TTracer44,

 

These two seem to fit your timeline:

 

Novara built 1912, 6,850 tons, Pacific & Orient, employed as transport 8 August 1914 to 29 August 1914.

Olympia built 1902, 5,138 tons, Anchor Line, employed as troop transport 6 August 1914 to 24 August 1914. 

 

Mike

Hi - I am new to all this.  I appreciate your patience.  I am trying to locate information about the Novara.  My grandfather sailed to Europe, departing Boston on 16 Jul 1918, according to Ancestry's list of "U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists 1910-1939."

MKC says this occurred in 1914.  Do you suppose Novara continued troop transports into 1918?  I also found reference that she was built in 1912 and scrapped in 1932.

Mostly, I am trying to confirm all these details and maybe find a photo of the Novara.  I am trying to collect data in order to purchase one of those bricks for the US Army Museum that would contain information about my grandfather.

I appreciate any insight you might have on the Novara.

 

Edited by ChuckGG
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  • 1 month later...

I too am a new boy to this forum - and the topic may now be old.

My grandfather served as Chief Officer on SS Novaro in WW1; the ship was one of the P&O steamers and I believe, from family papers and memories, that she was requisitioned by the Admiralty initially as a troop ship in 1914 but that she later served as a hospital ship during the Gallipoli campaign (where my GF met one of the Assistant Matrons of the army nursing service, who later became my GM ....)

She was built on the Clyde by Caird & Co of Greenock and launched in 1912, when she joined the Peninsular and Orient shipping line. She was a two masted screw steamer of approx 7,000 tons. However, apart from the fact that she was sent to be scrapped in Japan in 1932, I know very little else.

Here are a couple of photos of what I believe was the ship, one pre-war in 1912 and the other undated.

Any more information would be most welcome

SS Novara P&O.ALM 3rd Officer ?1912.jpg

SS Novara.jpg

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Thanks, Centaur165!

This is far more information that I had before and it answers a number of questions that I had about dates and so forth.  I don't have anything more to add to the fate of the ship beyond what you stated.  I wonder if there are records of her scrapping in Japan in 1932.  Sounds like she had a long-life as ships of that type go - twenty years.

I will add this to my grandfather's records in Ancestry.com.  

Thanks, again!

Chuck Gage

17 minutes ago, Centaur165 said:

I too am a new boy to this forum - and the topic may now be old.

My grandfather served as Chief Officer on SS Novaro in WW1; the ship was one of the P&O steamers and I believe, from family papers and memories, that she was requisitioned by the Admiralty initially as a troop ship in 1914 but that she later served as a hospital ship during the Gallipoli campaign (where my GF met one of the Assistant Matrons of the army nursing service, who later became my GM ....)

She was built on the Clyde by Caird & Co of Greenock and launched in 1912, when she joined the Peninsular and Orient shipping line. She was a two masted screw steamer of approx 7,000 tons. However, apart from the fact that she was sent to be scrapped in Japan in 1932, I know very little else.

Here are a couple of photos of what I believe was the ship, one pre-war in 1912 and the other undated.

Any more information would be most welcome

SS Novara P&O.ALM 3rd Officer ?1912.jpg

SS Novara.jpg

Whoops!  Not sure how system this works, but I will post this again:

 

Thanks, Centaur165!

This is far more information that I had before and it answers a number of questions that I had about dates and so forth.  I don't have anything more to add to the fate of the ship beyond what you stated.  I wonder if there are records of her scrapping in Japan in 1932.  Sounds like she had a long-life as ships of that type go - twenty years.

I will add this to my grandfather's records in Ancestry.com.  

Thanks, again!

Chuck Gage

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  • 1 year later...

Chuck, my grandfather - Earl H. Overbaugh - was on the same voyage of the Novara in July of 1918, so I’m guessing they were both in the 301st Artillery?  
 

I just found an interesting ‘illustrated map’ showing the unit’s travels during their deployment, and which includes a small cartoon drawing of the Novara. I am happy to share a scan of it with you.
 

It would be interesting to compare notes and share information on their service together. I am also on ancestry.com: allenvmiii.  

-Allen Vander Meulen

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