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Remembered Today:

SS Olympic


Manitoba

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Hi,

Does anyone have any information about the use of SS Olympic as a troop ship 1915-1918. I believe that she was used to transport a large part of the CEF to Liverpool during the war. My Canadian gt. uncle spoke in glowing terms of her facilities.

Any pictures of the CEF in transit between Halifax - Liverpool ?

Manitoba

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Here is a listing from the CEF Study Group's Recommended Great War List. In addition, I have added the details from the referenced website. A ship with a colourful history.

Regards

Borden Battery

The Ships List Mar 2006

This very comprehensive website contains a great deal of information on ship fleets and indiviidual ships. It is often possible to obtain information on Great War ships used for troop transport including details on building, ownership, fate or sale to new owner, subsequent owners and gross tonnage. Last updated: March 25, 2006 and maintained by S. Swiggum and M. Kohli

http://www.theshipslist.com/index.html

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OLYMPIC 1910

Built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast for the White Star Line, she was a 45,324 gross ton ship, overall length 883ft x beam 92.5ft, four funnels, two masts, triple screw and a service speed of 21 knots. There was accommodation for 735-1st, 674-2nd and 1,026-3rd class passengers. Her keel was laid on 16/12/1908 and she was launched on 20/10/1910. She commenced her maiden voyage from Southampton to Cherbourg, Queenstown (Cobh) and New York on 14/6/1911. On 20/9/1911 she collided with the British cruiser HMS HAWKE in the Solent, was held to blame for the collision and was repaired at Belfast. She resumed Southampton - Cherbourg - Queenstown - New York voyages on 30/11/1911, but was again taken out of service between 1912-13 for extensive rebuilding after the TITANIC disaster. Rebuilt to 46,359 tons and with a complete inner skin and increased number of lifeboats, she resumed service on 2/4/1913. In October 1914 she made an unsuccessful attempt to tow the battleship HMS AUDACIOUS to port after she had struck a mine, and in September 1915 was taken up as a troop ship. On 12/5/1918 she rammed and sank the German submarine U.103 near Lizard Point and started her first voyage after the Armistice on 8/12/1918 when she left Southampton for Halifax with 5,000 Canadian troops. On 12/2/1919 she started her first Liverpool - Brest - New York voyage and in July 1919 made her last voyage from Halifax to Liverpool as a troop ship. She then sailed to Belfast where she was reconditioned and converted from coal to oil burning. She resumed Southampton - Cherbourg - New York sailings on 25/6/1920 and on 22/3/1924 was in collision with the Furness Line's FORT ST.GEORGE near New York and damaged her stern post. In 1928 her accommodation was altered to 1st, 2nd, tourist and 3rd class and in October 1931 was again altered to carry 618-1st, 447-tourist and 382-3rd class passengers. On 16/5/1934 she rammed and sank the Nantucket lightship in fog, and later the same year came under the ownership of the newly formed Cunard-White Star Line. Her last Southampton - Cherbourg - New York voyage started on 27/3/1935 and she was then laid up at Southampton. Sold in September 1935, she arrived at Jarrow on 13/10/1935 for breaking up, and on 19/9/1937 her hulk was towed to Inverkeithing for final demolition. [North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.2,p.765]

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post-11408-1144235487.jpg

Owner: White Star Line, Oceanic Steam Navigation Company.

Port of Registry: Liverpool, England.

Builder: Harland and Wolff, Belfast, Ireland.

Launch Date: 20 October 1910

In Service Date: 14 June 1911

Scrapped: September 1935

Built for White Star Line by Harland and Wolff, the Olympic was the first of a new class of liners designed to challenge the Cunard steamers Lusitania and Mauretania.

In 1907, Joseph Bruce Ismay, of White Star, and William Pirrie, of Harland and Wolff, developed the concept of two large steamers, to be followed by a third to compete with the Cunard speedsters. Recognizing the expense of attempting to compete with the speed of the Cunard vessels, it was decided to build these vessels as the epitome of luxurious accomodation that could transport their passengers in a slightly slower, but much more comfortable manner.

The keel for Olympic was laid at the Queen's Island yard in 1909 and the completed hull launched on 20 October, 1910. The fitting out was completed and the vessel handed over to her owners on 31 March, 1911, the same day her younger sister was launched.

Olympic was involved in a collision with the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hawke, on 20 September, that necessitated her return to Belfast for repairs. Another mishap, in early 1912, involved the vessel throwing a propellor blade, again necessitating a return to Belfast.

Following the sinking of Titanic, Olympic once again returned to Belfast, this time for an extensive refit, designed to make her impervious to what befell her sister. The refit took six month to complete and she returned to service with a tonnage of 46,359.

During World War I the vessel was requisitioned by the Government and spent the entire war ferrying troops. Two incidents during the war served to tag Olympic as the "Old Reliable." In October of 1914, the battleship HMS Audacious had struck a mine and was sinking. Olympic arrived and attempted, unsuccessfully, to tow the stricken vessel to safety. The other event saw Olympic in the sights of Germany's U-103. Evading a torpedo, Olympic was turned and rammed her attacker, sinking it.

Following the war, Olympic was refitted as an oil burner. During the twenties the vessel continued to be popular. She was used for a short time, in tandem with Majestic, as a quick ferry between New York and Halifax.

Shortly after the merger of Cunard and White Star, Olympic was involved in another collision, this time ramming and sinking the Nantucket Lightship.

Finally, in March 1935, the vessel was laid up in Southampton. In September of that year the vessel was sold to Sir John Jarvis for £100,000. The vessel was taken to Jarrow, where its interiors were removed and auctioned off. The superstructure was then removed from the vessel and the hulk subsequently relocated to Inverkeithing for final demolition.

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Great stuff guys,

There appears to be a lot of information concerning the old lady in peacetime and mountains of nautical stats, but very little about her role as a troopship, eg.

How many troops could she carry in one crossing, what arrangements were made to protect her, what facilities were available for troops onboard (presumably the officers had better quarters), also fitness must have been an issue with a long sea crossing........? I know that medical arrangements were pretty basic. My gt uncle was taken ill mid-Atlantic and had to remain in his hammock until arrival in Liverpool, where an ambulance was waiting to take him and another Canuck to Liverpool Infirmary.

Any pictures of troops onboard her would be an amazing find!!

Manitoba

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Hello,

I think I have something that you'll find interesting. I recently purchased a White Star booklet completely dedicated to Olympic's war time career. It arrived today. Give me some time and I will post photos and more info here.

Another great resource about the Olympic is the book "RMS Olympic: Titanic's sister" written by Mark Chirnside.

The cover shows an aerial view of the ship with the decks filled with troops!

Best regards,

Michail

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The (not very detailed) War Diary entries for the Olympic can be found here.

Cheers,

Michael

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There is a short original film produced in 1919 entitled -

Canadian Troops Embarking for Canada on SS Olympic - 1919

It may be viewed online at

Images of a Forgotten War - National Film Board of Canada

Just to warn you - I can't get a link straight to that specific film - the site doesn't seem to work that way. Go to the link above, then click on Search on the grey bar at the top left. Search will bring you to a long list of the 1915-19 original films available for viewing. The one showing the Olympic is near the bottom of this list. Then click on the red lettering of the movie name and the movie will launch on RealPlayer.

P.S. There are also many other war era made short films that are available for viewing at the above site: - such as training camps in England (Shorncliffe, Bexhill), battles (Arras, Cambrai, etc.), war time cemeteries, views of the devastated war zones, etc. This may be of interest to all researchers because although the films were limited by the day's film making technology, they do give an idea of the landscape and conditions at the time and there are many shots showing the men and women involved.

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Guys these images are fantastic.

I was unaware of the existence of CEF footage online - this is very useful -

However ........

I'm having difficulty getting into the Canadian troops embarking for Canada - film, as the footer obstructs the last 6 results (below Valenciennes 2).

How do you scroll below this point?

Dying to see the aerial shot Michail.

The info' on the Britannic relating to her refit and modification as a hospital ship was interesting and leads me to believe that there must be comparable info' on the modifications made to the Olympic somewhere out there?

Manitoba

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There was a programme on TV here in UK during the week which investigated the claim that it was the Olympic and not the Titanic which sank. As stated above, the Olympic was damaged in a collision and was so badly damaged that the owners instigated an insurance scam in which the Olympic would be scuttled. The iceberg beat them to it and the Californian, which had been previously sent so that she was in the right position to rescue everybody, was out of sight.

The general opinion was that this was rubbish and it was the Titanic which sank. I had never heard of this conspiracy theory before. It started in Australia with a story told by a Titanic crew survivor who told of the switch. The problem with him was that his name didn't appear on the crew list.

Nigel

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Hello Manitoba,

It turned out that the publication that I received was not a White Star booklet but a Canadian magazine called "Canadian Military History" (Vol.11; No.1; Winter 2002). It has a 15-page article on the role of the 'Olympic' as a transport for the CEF.

Here is the best of the photos contained in the article:

Olympic_ww1_b.jpg

and here the aerial shot you wanted:

post-6578-1145050225.jpg

The Olympic carried some 72.000 Canadians to War and bought back home at least 58.000 (42.000 after the Armistice). She made 14 voyages from Halifax. During 12 of those voyages she was carrying an average of 6.000 troops. She also carried 12.000 members of the Chinese Labour Batallion. In 1918, she made 8 trips carrying 48.000 American troops (6.000 per voyage). In total, she carried about 132.000 men to Europe across the Atlantic.

Best regards,

Michail

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There was a programme on TV here in UK during the week which investigated the claim that it was the Olympic and not the Titanic which sank. As stated above, the Olympic was damaged in a collision and was so badly damaged that the owners instigated an insurance scam in which the Olympic would be scuttled. The iceberg beat them to it and the Californian, which had been previously sent so that she was in the right position to rescue everybody, was out of sight.

The general opinion was that this was rubbish and it was the Titanic which sank. I had never heard of this conspiracy theory before. It started in Australia with a story told by a Titanic crew survivor who told of the switch. The problem with him was that his name didn't appear on the crew list.

Nigel

A book to look out for is, 'Titanic the Ship that Never Sank' by Robin Gardiner

pb edition 2001 ISBN 0-7110-2777-3 a copy of which I have here. I bought it as soon as I saw it having read this author's earlier collaborative effort entitled, 'The Riddle of the Titanic".

Whilst reading this book I also borrowed from the local library a couple of books on the Olympic and Titanic which had many pictures with which to compare the two and also appreciate the 'alledged' date of the various photographs so as to note the detailed differences highlighted in the narrative.

Anybody who dismisses such conspiracy theories out-of-hand should read this book and have similar referrence material to hand. The 'switch' theory is very convincing and all possible arguments against pulling it off, such as the need to inhibit 'whistle blowers', are answered with aplomb.

One question is: was it realy an iceberg that ruptured the hull?

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  • 2 weeks later...

My Geat Aunt went to Halifax on the Olympics last trip across the Atlantic as a Troop Ship, it was in May 1919. She writes about her experience in a journal that she wroye called Lone Cone. Supposedly there were not that many on board and they had a lot of room; here is an extract:

She was the Olympic, at that time the the largest ship afloat. She looked enormous. It was the last time that she was used as a troopship, taking home the last load of troops, who hailed mostly from Nova Scotia. I shall never forget the send off they had, the docks were black with people, bands playing, people singing and speeches, a stirring sight. There were very few other passengers so we had plenty of room, amongst them were the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the former at that time Governor General of Canada, a few army officers and their wives, some nurses, and a few civilians. There was a strike at the time, and the ship gallantly took her own way out of Southampton without a tug. we were off. Canada next stop.

The voyage took them six days to cross. Any one having the exact dates of that trip or any photos of life on board with the troops would be most appreciated. ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hi,

Does anyone have any information about the use of SS Olympic as a troop ship 1915-1918. I believe that she was used to transport a large part of the CEF to Liverpool during the war. My Canadian gt. uncle spoke in glowing terms of her facilities.

Any pictures of the CEF in transit between Halifax - Liverpool ?

Manitoba

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:o Good Morning Manitoba: I was surprised to see there was someone else lookin for info on the SS Olympic. My grandfather sailed to England on June 2, 1917 on this ship. We have just started to try to put together info on this, the replies to your first post have been wonderful and helpful. Haven't had alot of time this morning to really read them well but will do so tomorrow. Happy Hunting to both of us!!! Thanks to all for the "great info". Greatful Granddaughter Sandi
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Hi,

Does anyone have any information about the use of SS Olympic as a troop ship 1915-1918. I believe that she was used to transport a large part of the CEF to Liverpool during the war. My Canadian gt. uncle spoke in glowing terms of her facilities.

Any pictures of the CEF in transit between Halifax - Liverpool ?

Manitoba

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Hi,

Does anyone have any information about the use of SS Olympic as a troop ship 1915-1918. I believe that she was used to transport a large part of the CEF to Liverpool during the war. My Canadian gt. uncle spoke in glowing terms of her facilities.

Any pictures of the CEF in transit between Halifax - Liverpool ?

Manitoba

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  • 2 weeks later...

This was in fact the third from last round trip to Halifax before Olympic went in for her postwar refit:

11.08pm 10th may 1919 southampton Halifax 16th may 1919

12.37pm 22nd may 1919 halifax Southampton 28th may 1919

I am new to this site, but very glad to find it.

I am writing a book about Olympic and would love to learn more about the onboard diaries mentioned above.

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:D

Good Morning: Thank you so much for that wonderfuly picture - you never know, one of those soldiers could be my grandfather!!!! I appreciate you taking the time to send that along to me. Take Care & Have A Great Day!!! Sandi

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West Kent Yeomany by Charles Ponsonby (1920) states that the whole of the 74th (Yeomanry) Division were transported to Mudros from Liverpool on 23rd September 1915 -

"We found ourselves hearded on the SS.Olympic, a White Star Liner of 50,000 tons, masquerading as H.M.T 2810 (His Majestys Troopship 2810). Two hours later the alarm sounded! A submarine had been spotted off the starboard bow. The torpedo missed us.

The ship transported 8,000 Yeoman including supporting units (RE, ASC, RFA).

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West Kent Yeomany by Charles Ponsonby (1920) states that the whole of the 74th (Yeomanry) Division were transported to Mudros from Liverpool on 23rd September 1915 -

"We found ourselves hearded on the SS.Olympic, a White Star Liner of 50,000 tons, masquerading as H.M.T 2810 (His Majestys Troopship 2810). Two hours later the alarm sounded! A submarine had been spotted off the starboard bow. The torpedo missed us.

The ship transported 8,000 Yeoman including supporting units (RE, ASC, RFA).

Hello: Thanks so much for the information on the SS Olympic I appreciate all the history I can receive on her war time. My grandfather left Halifax on May 31, 1917 on the Olympic and returned at the end of the war on the ship - RMS Mauretania, so needless to say I'am also researching the Mauretania's war history and the history of the 246th Battalion of which my grandfather belonged. Thanks so much once again for taking the time to get that to me, I appreciate it. Sandi

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  • 2 years later...
Guest icjohns
Hi,

Does anyone have any information about the use of SS Olympic as a troop ship 1915-1918. I believe that she was used to transport a large part of the CEF to Liverpool during the war. My Canadian gt. uncle spoke in glowing terms of her facilities.

Any pictures of the CEF in transit between Halifax - Liverpool ?

Manitoba

My great Uncle also sailled on this ship June 02 1917. He was a member of the 254th which renforced The 21 Bat. He never made the round trip.

http://members.kos.net/21stbattalion/tribute/nickle_rj.html

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