TOPIC:

No. 37 - Jamaican

F. Leyland & Co., Ltd

Master: J.W. Pickthall
Chief Officer: J. Rodgers
Chief Engineer: J. Moir
2nd Officer: S. Lord
3rd Officer: J.H. Collin
2nd Engineer: W.H. Stanley
3rd Engineer: C. Williams


Admiralty Return, 13 Aug 1903

Date of Admiralty agreement: 3 Oct 1899
16th Transport to be engaged by the Admiralty
Carried cavalry only

Period of engagement: 4 Oct 1899 to 21 Jun 1900

Total days at sea: 72
Total numbers transported to South Africa: 6 officers, 159 men, 152 horses
Total numbers transported from South Africa: 4 N.C.O.'s & men
Total cost (hire, fittings, coal & port dues): £43,709



.Oct 1899





Photographed at Durban on 28 Nov 1899: "Landing and entraining of the South African Light Horse from Cape Town at Durban, 1899".






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No. 33 - Mohawk

Atlantic Transport Co., Ltd.

Master: F.W. Tubb
Chief Officer: F.J. Lanquedoc
Chief Engineer: J. Robertson
2nd Officer: A.P. Jackson / C.H. Stapleton
3rd Officer: C.G. Mathieson
3rd Engineer: T.F. Holmes / H. Purvis / W. Sproull
Purser: J.T. Bowman


Admiralty Return, 13 Aug 1903

Date of Admiralty agreement: 2 Oct 1899
27th Transport to be engaged by the Admiralty

Period of engagement: 10 Oct 1899 to 7 Oct 1902

Total days at sea: 504
Total numbers transported to South Africa: 107 officers, 2 Warrant Officers, 3,500 men, 218 horses
Total numbers transported from South Africa: 194 officers, 6,570 N.C.O.'s & men, 12 horses
Total cost (hire, fittings, coal & port dues): £172, 544



.Oct 1899





.Photographed in Durban Harbour on 25 Nov 1899: "The Mohawk with General Buller on board entering Durban Harbour".






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No. 91 - Orotava

Pacific Steam Navigation Co.

Master: H. Collins
Chief Officer: G.H. Brindley / Morris Stanley Nicholson / G.C.M. Oakley / T.S. Price
Chief Engineer: J. Mitchell
2nd Officer: J. Howson
3rd Officer: F.J. Hayes / J.H. Jenkins / F.A. Little
2nd Engineer: J. Blyth / W. Cameron / John Scott
3rd Engineer: W.H. Black / W.H. Marker
Purser: H.D. Morgan
Surgeon: J.W. Anderson / A.D. Macpherson / G.A. Parker / W.T. Shields


Admiralty Return, 13 Aug 1903

Date of Admiralty agreement: 12 Feb 1900
92nd Transport to be engaged by the Admiralty.

Period of engagement: 13 Feb 1900 to 31 Dec 1902

Total days at sea: 600
Total numbers transported to South Africa: 593 officers, 22 warrant officers, 15,535 men, 25 horses
Total numbers transported from South Africa: 467 officers, 10,554 N.C.O.'s & men, 7 women & children, 42 horses
Total cost (hire, fittings, coal, port dues and conversion to a Hospital Ship): £313,166



.Feb - Jun 1900



Freight ship - Norman (on right in photograph below)

Note: Neil Snowden indicates that the Norman sailed as Transport No. 3. However the detailed Admiralty Return (13 Aug 1903) does not list the Norman as a Transport. She was in fact a freight ship (with no number). No. 3 was allocated to Dilwara.

Embarkations of the Norman

2 Dec 1899, Southampton to Cape Town, 22 officers / warrant officers and 1,085 men + 3 horses, cost: £17,798
10 Feb 1900, Southampton to Cape Town, 23 officers / warrant officers and 488 men + 14 horses, cost: £11,631
30 Jun 1900, Southampton to Cape Town, 24 officers / warrant officers and 85 men, cost: £3,468
6 Apr 1901, Southampton to Durban, 41 officers / warrant officers and 592 men, cost: £12,657
10 May 1901, Southampton to Cape Town, 24 officers / warrant officers and 1,651 men, cost: £15,413
13 Aug 1902, Port Elizabeth / Cape Town to Southampton, 60 officers and 1,075 men, cost: £13,289
15 Oct 1902, Cape Town to Southampton, 21 officers and 101 men, cost: £1,850
17 Dec 1902, Durban / Cape Town to Southampton, 43 officers and 83 men, 4 women and 1 child, cost: £1,850





.Orotava on left; Norman on right. Cape Town, March 1900





.R.A.M.C. and S.J.A.B. boarding the Orotava at Birkenhead, 23 Feb 1900 (No 24 Field Hospital, and No 5A General Hospital)







.Two photographs of the Orotava leaving Cape Town on 28 Nov 1900, with 800 invalids on board.









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Good Evening Everyone......

I found the following on line......



DUNVEGAN CASTLE 1896

5958 gross tons, length 450.5ft x beam 50.9ft, one funnel, three masts, single screw, speed 15 knots, accommodation for 200-1st and 400-3rd class passengers. Built by Fairfield SB Co, Govan for Donald Currie's Castle Line, she entered service in Jul.1896 as a mail steamer on the UK - South Africa service. In 1900 she became part of the merged Union-Castle Mail SS Co and in 1901 took part in Edward VII's Coronation review at Spithead. After being used for cruising in Summer 1904, she was laid up at Netley for seven years before being rebuilt and placed on the UK - Suez - East Africa route. 1914 used for cross channel trooping. 1915 returned to South Africa Mail service when larger ships were taken over for war service, then converted to Hospital ship. 1916 returned to her owners and in 1917 carried General Smuts, prime minister of South Africa to Britain. 1918 made two voyages to New York for Cunard Line. 1919 chartered to French Government and made Copenhagen - Cherbourg voyages to repatriate French prisoners from North Germany. 1921 laid up at Netley. 1923 scrapped Germany.[Merchant Fleets, vol.18 by Duncan Haws]





Mike

Mike,

The Dunvegan Castle does not appear on the Neil Snowden list but does get 39 mentions in the shipping records - the first being in January 1900 and the last in November 1902.

With due respect to Duncan Haws, King Edward VII's Spithead Naval Review took place on 16th August 1902. The shipping records show that the Dunvegan Castle left South Africa August 20th 1902 and was due in Southampton on 6th September 1902. So if the shipping records are correct there was no way the Dunvegan Castle could have taken part in the Naval Review.

David.

Neville,

What a brilliant set of photographs - looking at them you can hear the hustle and bustle - where did you find them?

Do you have photos of 42 Formosa & 74 Cymric?

The Formosa took 4 Smethwickians serving in the DCLI to war in November 1899 but I cannot find a photo of her even when she was not a troopship.

The Cymric makes a double appearance in my Great Uncle Bartholomew's 1901 Diary when he and his brother Bertie spent time at Liverpool in the Easter holidays. Their first attempt to look round her failed because she was late arriving from New York. She appears to have only spent 4 months being a troopship, from January to April 1900, as she was back on the Liverpool-New York route in May 1900.

David.