DGW Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 Could anyone please advise the dates HMS Aquitaina left and returned to the UK whilst in support of the Dardanelles campaign as a hospital ship, and dates of any ports of call in between. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Mills Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 I don't have the details of every voyage that Aquitania made, but you will find her log books preserved in the National Archives. There are five relevant files, numbered BT 100/504 thru BT 100/508 for the period in question (1915/1916). Very briefly Aquitania was called up for service as a Mediterranean transport in June 1915. She made three trips to the Eastern Mediterranean as a troop ship, and the usual route would have been Southampton to Mudros (on the Greek island of Lemnos), calling at an Italian port en route home to take on coal and water. The RMS Olympic usually called at La Spezia on the return leg, so I would assume that it would have been the same procedure for Aquitania. When serving as a hospital ship the routine was slightly different. Although still based at Southampton and travelling to Mudros, because the ship was empty on the way out they would instead call at Naples on the outward voyage to take on coal and water, before making a non-stop return voyage from Mudros back to Southampton. By the end of 1916 Aquitania was surplus to requirement and spent all of 1917 laid up, before returning to trooping duties on the North Atlantic after America entered the war in December 1917. Regards, S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g6yfb Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 DGW, I have attached a link to a book that includes some colour prints/sketches of Aquitania in the dardanelles. look at page 114. an excellent water colour. RGDS Graham http://www.archive.org/details/dardanellescolou00wilkuoft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGW Posted 26 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2012 Graham & Simon - Thank you both , much appreciated. I had thought Malta may have been a port of call for the Biggi Hospital facility, but it would appear not. Thanks once again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdoyle Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 by co-incidence, read a brief mention of the Aquitania in Forward the Rifles this morning. Lt (later Capt) David Campbell describing in small detail his evacuation from Gallipoli to Southampton on this ship. Departed Mudros in August 1915, took on coal at Naples, docked Southampton 23rd Sept 1915. On to Highclere Castle for treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morcombe Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 18/9/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 27/9/15. 21/10/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 27/10/15. 25/11/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 4/12/15. 26/12/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 3/1/16. Mid-Feb. 1916 at Naples receiving wounded from HS "Neuralia". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 18/9/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 27/9/15. 21/10/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 27/10/15. 25/11/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 4/12/15. 26/12/15 left Mudros for UK, arrived 3/1/16. Mid-Feb. 1916 at Naples receiving wounded from HS "Neuralia". Hello John, Could you tell us where you sourced the above dates, please? Thanks, Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Mills Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 Graham & Simon - Thank you both , much appreciated. I had thought Malta may have been a port of call for the Biggi Hospital facility, but it would appear not. Thanks once again Malta was certainly deep enough to accommodate ships as large as Aquitania, Olympic and Britannic, but in order to maintain their high speed these ships were very coal hungry so they would only be allowed to refuel at military facilities in an absolute emergency -- even the coal supplies at Mudros were specially reserved for the navy. It is interesting to read in an earlier post that Aquitania took on coal at Naples during a return run. The usual routine was to refuel hospital ships on the outward leg (when they were largely empty) so that once they had taken on their patients they could return to the UK as quickly as possible. With troop ships it was the other way round; they were generally empty on the return leg so speed wasn't such an issue once they were out of the immediate danger zone (East of Italy towards the Adriatic) and they could refuel on the way home. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGW Posted 27 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 27 February , 2012 Many thanks all very much appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morcombe Posted 27 February , 2012 Share Posted 27 February , 2012 Could you tell us where you sourced the above dates, please? Thanks, Joanna Yes. Drawn from Royal Marine casualty forms (afb.103) of RND men evacuated from MEF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 27 February , 2012 Share Posted 27 February , 2012 Could you tell us where you sourced the above dates, please? Thanks, Joanna Yes. Drawn from Royal Marine casualty forms (afb.103) of RND men evacuated from MEF. Hello John, Thanks for getting back with the source for those dates - I'm particularly interested in the 21/10/15 - 27/10/15 journey. Are those casualty forms to be found in the National Archives? (Sorry - another question!) Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmaasz Posted 28 February , 2012 Share Posted 28 February , 2012 Ref post #3 by GJH: I have a copy of Norman Wilkinson's book and can confirm the excellence of all the paintings of the Dardanelles at Helles and Suvla Bay. My copy was presented by Arthur Palliser (later Rear Admiral Palliser) to a family member and is so inscribed on the fly-leaf with the comment "The illustrations are very like the reality." Clearly he was there, serving I believe as a Royal Navy Lieutenant, but I have not researched him to find out on what ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morcombe Posted 28 February , 2012 Share Posted 28 February , 2012 Hello John, Thanks for getting back with the source for those dates - I'm particularly interested in the 21/10/15 - 27/10/15 journey. Are those casualty forms to be found in the National Archives? (Sorry - another question!) Joanna Hi Joanna, No, all but a few of the 1000+ afb.103s were copied at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. One or two Portsmouth RMLI are in the National Archives, but 99% are held by the FAAM. I compiled the names of all ships & dates given on these forms. TTFN John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMH Posted 28 February , 2012 Share Posted 28 February , 2012 Thank you, John. Sorry to high jack this thread, DGW. Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miklen Posted 23 June , 2012 Share Posted 23 June , 2012 Hi being new to this forum, I just wanted to added to this post with regards to the Aquitania. My Great Grandfather sailed on this ship to Gallipoli in August 1915, we have a postcard with the ship on the front telling his wife to be of his journey. My great grandfather was Sidney Harold Warren service numbers 605/240032 and served with the 5th Suffolk Regiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank McC Posted 2 July , 2012 Share Posted 2 July , 2012 In case it helps anyone, here is a snippet of info from my father's MN Discharge book. As a 17 year old from Liverpool, John McCormick was engaged as a Trimmer on the Aquitania (official number 135583, tonnage 21992) at Liverpool on 9 October 1916. The description of voyage is recorded as "Hospital Ship". Date and place of discharge is given as 23 December 1916 at Southampton. The Master's signature is Chas. A. Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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