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Remembered Today:

Hospital Ships used at Gallipoli


mutley

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I have just discovered that a distant relative served in the Royal Naval Reserve from 1st June 1915 and was as far as I can see was on HMS Europa off of Mudros during the Gallipoli campaign. It would appear that he was injured in some way and sent to the RN Hospital at Malta and then returned to the UK by Hospital ship. I can't make out the name of the ship but it is possibly the Hospital Ship London, if such a vessel existed. Can anyone assist with details of hospital ships in the Dardanelles at the end of 1915. From what I can see he is invalided back to the UK between the 1st December 1915 and 1st January 1916.

I must admit I have no real idea with anything nautical, Ive never had to research the RN or RNR in the Great War before.

Many thanks

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Just laughing slightly painfully as I have been working as co-author on a paper on naval hospital ships in the Great War and feel as if they are all sailing through my head at the moment.

Off the top of my head the nearest-looking name to LONDON in the naval HS line-up is DONGOLA, but if you hold on I will confirm.

 

 

Edited by seaJane
typo
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These are all the Naval hospital ships with their pendant numbers. If. @mutley, your LONDON was in fact the DONGOLA, then your relative was taken home on an Army hospital ship (not impossible, I suspect).

SOUDAN No.1 - I think this is your best candidate, as I know from the diary of a surgeon aboard REWA that SOUDAN was at Gallipoli at about the same time.

GARTH CASTLE No.2

DRINA No.3

PLASSY No.4

REWA No.5

CHINA No.6

DELTA (HK) No.7

GRANTALA (AUS) No.8

ALBION No.9

LIBERTY No.10

SHEELAH No.11

PRINCE GEORGE No.12 (CAN)

AGADIR No.13

MAGIC No.14

QUEEN ALEXANDRA No.15

SOMALI No.16

KARAPARA No.17

BERBICE No.18

ST MARGARET OF SCOTLAND 19

Best wishes,

seaJane

1 minute ago, mutley said:

this is what it looks like on his record.

I definitely read that as SOUDAN :)

sJ

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Thanks very much for your help, I can't work out what his injury was but it was enough to get him discharged on 8th August 1917. He was by the looks of it a Coal Trimmer in the engine room so I'm guessing an injury or illness rather than any sort of combat wound. 

Thanks again for your help and good luck with your paper.

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Thank you! If you can post the image of his injury as written I may be able to decipher that too (naval medicine is my area).

Is this a service record from TNA (Kew)?

sJ

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In 'The Fight for Life' by John Dixon and Ritchie Wood there is a comprehensive list of 89 Hospital Ships, including Navy, Army, and 'black' ships [mainly transports used as temporary hospital ships]. The only one to match the handwritig is 'Soudan', as suggested by sJ.

Regards,

Alf McM

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10 hours ago, mutley said:

I have just discovered that a distant relative served in the Royal Naval Reserve

May we know his name/official number?

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Thank you all for your posts. Having had a better look at his record from the National Archives it would appear that he was moved from Gallipoli to Malta by the HS Soudan and then from RN Hospital Malta to England aboard a different Hospital Ship. His problem seems to be "defective teeth and dyspepsia" which may I guess suggest something like an ulcer.

This is the detail of the second ship but the writing is quite small and difficult to read (well for me it is ***)

Thanks again

Screenshot 2024-04-30 at 10.53.01.png

1 hour ago, horatio2 said:

May we know his name/official number?

ST1294 Trimmer James Sheerin

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The Ebani left Alexandria for the UK on 31 October 1915 and was at again at Egypt (Port Said) on 1st February 1916*. In between times she may well have made other trips between Egypt and the UK, but again, how to confirm this?

*https://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-01-HMS_Jupiter.htm

Edited by michaeldr
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2 minutes ago, michaeldr said:

Screenshot2024-04-30at10_53_01.png.a21b5

It looks like the Hospital Ship 'Ebani' but how you would confirm that I'm not sure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ebani

The 1915 crew list would suggest a military medical presence 

Ship: Ebani; Official number: 131462. Crew listing continued from BT 400/3907/3A. V W... | The National Archives

Ship: Ebani; Official number: 131462. Crew listing continued from BT 400/3907/3A. V W... | The National Archives

 

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Thanks again, all interesting stuff, my grandfather, half brother to James was also a Gallipoli casualty who was sent back to the UK and then back to his Battalion Depot (Leinster Regiment) in Ireland. After a period of convalescence he was sent back to the front, this time to France where he was badly wounded on the Somme in September 1916.

 

Thanks again

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My Grandfather was a casevac, with a bullet wound to his back, on HMHS Soudan as a survivor of Collingwood Battalion from 3rd Krithia Battle on 6 June. He was admitted to RNH in Malta (probably Bighi at a guess because such records do no exist) on 11th June before re-embarking on Souda 21st June for return home.

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Not an answer to the original question, but for any who may in the future be seeking answers about hospital ships (not necessarily Naval) at Gallipoli, here is a list of the ships, including troopships and storeships, recorded in Mudros on 21 April 1915: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/gacqgpt4/items?canvas=6

Regards,

seaJane

Reference:

Duplicated copy of private log book of [unknown] during life on board H.M. Hospital Ship Soudan, 11 Aug 1914-2 Sept [actually 21 May] 1915, including Dardanelles campaign. 1914-1915. Royal Army Medical Corps Muniments Collection RAMC/1569. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/gacqgpt4/items [cited 1 Feb 2024].

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On 30/04/2024 at 09:12, DavidOwen said:

Thanks for posting this link. Are you aware of anymore of this diary that covers June 1915. I ask because my Grandfather was evacuated wounded on Soudan 6th June and  taken to Malta later back to UK. A diary might help fill in some gaps of my 10 years long research.

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7 minutes ago, Lawryleslie said:

Thanks for posting this link. Are you aware of anymore of this diary that covers June 1915. I ask because my Grandfather was evacuated wounded on Soudan 6th June and  taken to Malta later back to UK. A diary might help fill in some gaps of my 10 years long research.

Sorry I am not aware of any others.

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