Official Number: 121223
Pennant Number: Y.9.1 / E8210
Builder: Barclay Curle & Co., Whitinch
Launched: 9 March 1905
Fate: Sunk
Items of historic interest involving this ship: –
Background Data: One of a group of additional ships requisitioned by the Admiralty in WW1 to augment the ships of the RFA
9 March 1905 launched by Barclay Curle & Co, Whiteinch as Yard Nr 452 named PESHAWUR for Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co, London
30 April 1905 completed for her owner’s Far East and Australian service. Cost £106,061
December 1905 when sailing from Antwerp to Shanghai and having left her berth the vessel entered the tideway accompanied by two tugs. Problems with the tugs taking control of the vessel resulted in the starboard anchor having to be dropped as the tideway was taking the ship across the tideway towards an anchored ship. The engines failed to stop this movement and while the anchored ship was missed the stern of the ss Peshawur ran aground on the opposite bank. With the assistance of the two tugs, the ships engines and the abandonment of the starboard anchor she missed other vessel but struck the quay which had been her original berth with her stern and with such force that her rudder, rudder post, stern post, port propeller, steering gear and engine sustained serious damage. The after peak flooded and the pumps had to be kept running to pump of the water in the tunnel well. The vessel was fiannly berthed, discharged her cargo and entered dry dock for repairs. Claims for damage to her cargo was, in April 1908, the subject of litigation in the Kings Bench Division of the High Court in London. The Court action failed.
24 April 1906 sailed Antwerp
7 January 1907 arrived at Brisbane on her maiden voyage from London
10 January 1907 sailed Brisbane
3 July 1907 sailed Yokohama for London
15 February 1908 sailed Sydney, NSW for Dunkirk, London and Antwerp with 8,000 bales of wool
3 April 1908 arrived at Dunkirk
1 March 1909 arrived at Suez from Australian ports
25 June 1909 sailed Port Said for London
1 November 1909 sailed Japan for Sydney, NSW
2 December 1909 sailed Sydney NSW with 9,620 boxes butter, 21,492 carcases mutton, 6,548 bales of wool, 2,516 tons of concentrates, 850 bars of lead, 250 bars of copper, 2,267 nags of ore, 48 casks of tallow, 31 casks of pelts and 42 bales of skins for Dunkirk and the UK
1910 transferred to Lunds Blue Anchor Branch Line name unchanged
25 April 1910 berthed at Sydney, NSW
11 May 1910 arrived at Port Adelaide from Melbourne
15 May 1910 at Port Adelaide two of the crew – Nawab Allie Mahomed and Fazuldeen Ellai Bux, both Firemen deserted the ship as illegal immigrants
1 June 1910 Captain Charles Frederick Lockstone the ship’s Master was charged before Port Adelaide Police Court with allowing the above two illegal immigrants to land in the Commonwealth. He pleaded Guilty and was fined £100 in respect of each charge. As at the date and time of the Court hearing both illegal immigrants had not been detained.
15 December 1910 sailed Melbourne to Dunkirk and London
21 April 1911 sailed Singapore for ports in China and Japan
17 March 1912 arrived at Port Said while enroute from London to Yokohama
26 November 1912 sailed Albany for London
26 November 1913 sailed Port Adelaide for London
31 May 1914 sailed Sydney, NSW, Australia for Dunkirk
25 July 1914 berthed at Dunkirk from Sydney, NSW, Australia
3 August 1914 was requisitioned by the Admiralty for service as a Stores Carrier, name unchanged also known as HM Squadron Supply Ship No. 1
5 August 1914 Commander Francis E Andrews RNR (Ret.) appointed as Commanding Officer and Engineer T E Legg RNR appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
8 August 1914 at Chatham loading Naval stores
12 August 1914 sailed Chatham to Gravesend to load coal as bunkers – completed 13 August 1914
14 August 1914 sailed Gravesend to Scapa Flow arriving on 17 August 1914
18 August 1914 sailed Scapa Flow to Loch Ewe
19 August 1914 alongside HMS Hercules and HMS Marlborough supplying Naval Stores
20 August 1914 alongside HMS St Vincent and HMS Iron Duke also supplied lighter by HMS Superb
21 August 1914 sailed Loch Ewe to Scapa Flow arriving the next day making fast alongside HMS Cyclops
26 August 1914 at Scapa Flow HMS Gossamer came alongside for oil
4 September 1914 sailed Scapa Flow to Loch Ewe arriving the next day
7 September 1914 sailed Loch Ewe to Scapa Flow arriving the next day
13 September 1914 sailed Scapa Flow to Loch Ewe arriving the next day
23 September 1914 sailed Loch Ewe to Scapa Flow arriving the next day
26 September 1914 sailed Scapa Flow to Loch Ewe arriving the next day
29 September 1914 sailed Loch Ewe to Scapa Flow arriving the next day
4 October 1914 sailed Scapa Flow to Loch Ewe arriving the next day
22 April 1915 Stoker Arthur Brentley RNR discharged dead he is buried in GILLINGHAM (WOODLANDS) CEMETERY, KENT in the Naval section 17 in grave 865. His grave stone shows he died of wounds.
Courtesy and © of The War Graves Photographic Project
3 May 1915 Became H.M. Transport, name unchanged
2 November 1915 Seaman Said Malbrook discharged dead. He is buried in Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France in Section 14 grave 4
Image kindly taken by François Vaudour
1916 Damaged by a drifting steamer at Newport
20 March 1917 Seaman Bhagwan Tickham discharged dead. He is buried in Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France in Section 14
Image kindly taken by François Vaudour
9 October 1917 whilst inbound from Montreal and Sydney, Nova Scotia serving as a HM Transport, she was torpedoed twice by U-96 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Jeß) and sank 1 mile off the South Rock Lighthouse, near Ballyquintin Point, Co Down, N Ireland with the loss of 13 of the 125 persons aboard. The survivors were picked up by the Patrol Yacht ALBION 11. Two – Winchman Williams James Andrews and Third Engineer Wallace George Caws are remembered with pride on the Tower Hill Memorial. Others are also remembered with pride on the Bombay 1914-1918 Memorial, Mumbai, India.
Third Engineer Wallace Caws is also remembered with pride on the Cowes, Isle of WIght, War Memorial