Hospital Ship Identification Numbers

[Mark Chirnside]

Hello,

I wonder if I might ask for some assistance on the following question relating to hospital ship numbers.

I am trying to track down any record of the numbers G608 and G618. The latter was assigned to the hospital ship Britannic when she was sunk in late 1916, and among other sources is confirmed by the British Ministry of Defence and an official 1921 record of ships lost at sea during the conflict. However, a photo surfaced in 2004 which showed the number G608 on Britannic's bridge front and so it seems that the number changed at some point.

The problem is, there does not seem to be any primary source documentation as to the number G608 in relation to Britannic. Was the number G608 used for another hospital ship at some time, and if so, when? This would narrow down the date of the number change in Britannic's case.

Among other sources such as the Army Medical Museum, I have undertaken research in the National Archives at Kew (when I have had the chance) since 2004-05, and although I have come up with some interesting material such as a file marked 'Hospital Ships. Identification Particulars,' as yet I have had no luck with the number, nor has anyone else.

By way of explanation, the following letter from me was published in the British Titanic Society's Atlantic Daily Bulletin in December 2005:

Thanks for your note, re.: Britannic’s hospital ship number. I was very pleased to hear that your correspondent enjoyed reading my book, "The ‘Olympic’

Class Ships – Olympic, Titanic & Britannic." There is an interesting discrepancy with regard to the Britannic’s number. Prior to 2004, there was a consensus that Britannic’s number was G618. Simon Mills’ latest book, Hostage to Fortune, even noted that the number ‘G608’ (as written by Captain Bartlett in his report following the sinking) was incorrect. It was in January 2003 that the manuscript of my book was delivered to my publisher, complete with the solitary reference to ‘G618.’ However, in 2004 the photograph that is reproduced on the back of my book surfaced, and as your correspondent rightly noted it shows the number ‘G608’ on Britannic’s bridge front; the discrepancy was unnoticed by me prior to the book first going to press in October 2004. The photograph was taken early in 1916, and so shows the Britannic during the earlier phase of her career. With this photo available, it then seemed to be a fact that the number ‘G608’ was displayed on the Britannic, and that therefore this was her correct number. (Based on this new information, I even commissioned a painting of the Britannic from maritime artist Stuart Williamson which showed the number ‘G608.’)

However,nothing is clear with this ‘ship of mystery’ and there has been another twist to the debate in recent months: Britannic researcher Michail Michailakis (webmaster of www.hospitalshipbritannic.com) came into possession of an October 1916 photograph which showed the number G618 on the ship’s bridge front. Although I had thought it too ‘neat’ for the ship’s number to change by a single digit, it does appear at the moment that the Britannic’s number was changed sometime between early 1916 and October 1916, from ‘G608’ to ‘G618.’. There is no known reason for the change as yet, and it is currently taxing the minds of a number of Britannic researchers. What is a matter of record is that the number displayed on the Britannic changed (as shown by the photograph), but exactly when this happened and why it happened, it is not yet possible to say. (I have been keeping a record of the debate on the news section of my website at

www.markchirnside.co.uk)

I have been writing an article dealing with the number debate for some time, on and off, and will be submitting it to the new Britannic Foundation. However, research is always ongoing. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and acknowledged. Thank you for your time.

Best wishes,

Mark.