Previous name:
Subsequent name: Tablada
Official Number: 111177
Class: Submarine Depot Ship
Pennant No:
Laid down:
Builder: Vickers Maxim, Barrow
Launched: 25 February 1899
Into Service: October 1914
Out of service: August 1919
Fate: Sold to mercantile interests
Items of historic interest involving this ship: –
Background Data: Some official lists, marked as “Lists of RFA’s” show vessels which spent some time as RFA’s during the First World War. These records are extremely sketchy and some of these vessels were “Yard Craft”, partially or wholly Dockyard manned, partly by RNR or Reserve Fleet personnel. Some of the Depot Ships staffed by skilled civilian Dockyard workers were for a time White Ensign. The Director of Stores was understood to be concerned with their manning and operationally they remained under Admiralty control
25 February 1899 launched by Vickers Son & Maxim, Barrow as Yard Nr: 270 named SOKOTO for British and African Steamship Co (Elder, Dempster & Co Ltd, Managers) Liverpool. Named after a province and its chief township in SW Nigeria
28 February 1899 Lloyds List newspaper reported …
April 1899 Completed .71 x 1st Class and 36 x 2nd Class passengers
7 April 1899 sailed from Barrow for Liverpool
22 April 1899 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports on her maiden voyage with 42 passengers
29 April 1899 arrived at Grand Canary
5 May 1899 at Port in Sierra Leone – grounded while leaving port – refloated after roughly 60 tons of cargo had been jettisoned.
11 May 1899 off Cape Coast Castle F. Taylor a trimmer, went mad with drink, jumped overboard into shark infested waters. Captain C J Mellis and Sailors Andrew Price, Charles Horn, and A J Langley all jumped in and, with their united efforts, managed to rescue the man. All four were awarded the Royal Humane Societies Bronze Medal
Royal Humane Society’s Bronze Medal
4 June 1899 off Foroados River Trimmer C Cooke discharged dead – malaria
22 July 1899 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports
1 August 1899 arrived at Port Pirie
29 August 1899 sailed from Port Pirie
14 October 1899 sailed Liverpool to Teneriffe, Sierra Leone and Lagos Nigeria
21 December 1899 arrived at Plymouth
10 January 1900 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports with 34 passengers
3 March 1900 at 7.32N 13.43W passenger Brother Martin M Kurtz discharged dead from black water fever
4 April 1900 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports
May 1900 at Cape Coast Castle
7 June 1900 sailed Plymouth for Liverpool
27 June 1900 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports
12 August 1900 sailed Lagos
24 August 1900 sailed Grand Canaria for Liverpool
19 September 1900 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports
8 November 1900 at Cape Coast Castle preparing to sailed for England
20 November 1900 at 33°21N 13°36W Pilot Brereton P Evans discharged dead from pneumonia
25 November 1900 sailed Plymouth for Liverpool
12 December 1900 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports
4 February 1901 sailed Sierra Leone while on passage from Lagos to Liverpool
17 February 1901 berthed at Liverpool from Lagos
6 March 1901 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports
5 May 1901 sailed Grand Canary
30 May 1901 sailed Liverpool to Grand Canary and West African ports. Captain J Morgan was the Master
10 July 1901 sailed Hull
31 July 1901 at 47°53N 5°09W Cook and Baker John Carr discharged dead – natural causes
21 August 1901 sailed Liverpool to West African ports with 68 passengers
20 October 1901 at 32°00N 13°56W R H Harrison discharged dead from malaria
16 November 1901 sailed Liverpool to West African ports with 75 passengers. Captain J A Windham was the Master
4 January 1902 sailed Lagos for Liverpool
18 January 1902 arrived at Plymouth from Lagos sailing again for Liverpool
8 February 1902 sailed from Liverpool for West Africa
12 April 1902 arrived at Plymouth with wounded Army officers from the Aro expedition
23 May 1902 arrived Tacoma from Koba
9 August 1902 sailed Liverpool for Sierra Leone
15 November 1902 sailed Liverpool for Forcados
23 December 1902 sailed from Sierra Leone for Liverpool
24 January 1903 sailed Liverpool for Maderia and Accra, Ghana
20 April 1903 arrived at Sekondi from Liverpool
25 May 1903 arrived at Plymouth from West African ports sailing again for Liverpool
17 June 1903 arrived at Sierra Leone from Liverpool
12 September 1903 sailed Liverpool for Cameroon
11 November 1903 sailed Lagos for Liverpool
21 November 1903 from Lagos sailed Grand Canaria for Liverpool
1 December 1903 arrived at Plymouth
2 December 1903 arrived at Liverpool
19 December 1903 sailed Liverpool for Cape Coast, Ghana
4 January 1904 arrived at Sekondi from Liverpool
15 February 1904 sailed Lagos for Liverpool
26 March 1904 sailed Liverpool for Lagos, Nigeria
4 September 1904 arrived at Sierra Leone sailing again the same day
17 September 1904 arrived at Liverpool
14 January 1905 sailed Liverpool for Calabar, Nigeria
26 April 1905 sailed Liverpool for Cape Coast
9 July 1905 berthed at Liverpool
29 July 1905 sailed Liverpool for West African ports
14 October 1905 arrived at Liverpool from West African ports
1 November 1905 sailed Liverpool
9 November 1905 arrived at Grand Canaria from Liverpool
7 February 1906 sailed from Liverpool for Gran Canaria
3 May 1906 berthed at Liverpool from Sapele, Conakry and Teneriffe with forty eight passengers
21 August 1906 berthed at Liverpool from Sapele and Teneriffe with three passengers
2 September 1906 sailed Liverpool for Montreal
20 September 1906 sailed Montreal, Canada on the owners Canada, Cuba and Mexico service
11 December 1906 berthed at Havana, Cuba with seventeen members of the crew of the Norwegian schooner Wellington which she had picked up at 34.29N 65.40W. The Master, his wife and other crew members had been holding onto the slowly sinking schooner’s poop for five days without food or water
3 March 1907 arrived at Halifax from Vera Crux
9 March 1907 ran aground off Louisberg CB in heavy weather after dragging her anchor. Pulled clear by two tugs
15 March 1908 sailed Port Talbot for Iquique
8 May 1908 sailed Montreal, Canada with cargo for Mexico ports
29 August 1908 sailed Montreal, Canada for Nassau, Bahamas; Havana, Cuba; Tampico, Vera Cruz and Progreso, Mexico
1 December 1908 sailed Iquique for a UK port
15 February 1909 berthed at Newport News with a fire in the hold
17 February 1909 fire extinguished. Ship moved to receive bunkers and then to sail to St. John’s, New Brunswick
6 March 1909 at 36°20N 07°29W Able Seaman Louis Davis discharged dead – suicide
7 June 1909 sailed Quebec
19 June 1909 sailed Montreal
18 July 1909 sailed Vigo
1 December 1909 arrived at Newport News from Vera Cruz
2 December 1909 cleared Newport News for Halifax
3 December 1909 passed Cape Henry when on passage to Halifax
6 December 1909 arrived at St Johns, NB
13 December 1909 sailed Halifax
7 January 1910 sailed Vera Cruz
24 January 1910 sailed Puerto Mexico
15 March 1910 sailed Newport News after loading bunkers and discharging two passengers
3 April 1910 sailed St. John’s, New Brunswick
26 August 1911 arrived Quebec, Canada
2 September 1910 arrived at Montreal, Canada having sailed from Mexico
15 June 1911 berthed at Montreal, Canada having sailed from Mexico
27 August 1911 arrived Quebec, Canada from Proguso
5 November 1911 berthed at Montreal, Canada
2 May 1912 berthed at Quebec, Canada
11 May 1912 the ship’s Master – Captain J Pierce appeared before a Court in Norfolk, Virginia this day and pleaded Not Guilty to a charge brought by a Grand Jury alleging that the Sokoto had sailed without ‘proper wireless equipment’. The case was adjourned for legal review of matters raised by the defence
12 July 1912 berthed at Quebec, Canada
2 December 1912 the Scotsman newspaper reported that –
30 May 1913 berthed at Liverpool after passage from Sydney, Cape Breton
12 December 1913 sailed Duala for Liverpool
22 December 1913 sailed Sierra Leone for Liverpool
6 January 1914 berthed at Liverpool from Libreville with one passanger. Captain J Johnson was the ships Master
29 January 1914 arrived at Las Palmas from Liverpool
5 April 1914 sailed Sierra Leone
20 April 1914 arrived at Liverpool from a West African port with three passengers. Captain J Johnson was the ships Master
21 April 1914 arrived at Port Talbot
2 September 1914 berthed at Liverpool from Libreville, Teneriffe, Las Palmas and Sierra Leone with 11 passengers. Captain A J Day was the ships Master
26 October 1914 purchased by the Admiralty along with SOBO for conversion into a Submarine Depot Ship
2 November 1914 at Portsmouth Harbour being fitted out for her deployment together with RFA’s ARO and SOBO
5 December 1914 nominated for service at Long Hope. Her RN crew were to be carried on HMS CYCLOPS
6 January 1915 sailed Southampton for Scapa Flow arriving on 14 January 1915
7 January 1915 Lieutenant John W Dring RNR appointed as Commanding Officer and Engineer B Langan RNR appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
5 August 1916 Engineer Commander Thomas W Cleave RNR appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
16 August 1916 Lieutenant Commander John Howson RD RNR appointed in command
18 December 1916 Engineer Captain George K Edwards Royal Navy (Retired) discharged dead. He is buried in Torquay Cemetery in Grave D 4 14410
Courtesy and © of The War Graves Photographic Project
14 June 1917 Commander Samuel W Ryder RD RNR appointed in command
Commander Samuel W Ryder RD RNR
28 June 1917 Able Seaman John Lawrence MMR 641968 discharged dead – accidentally drowned and buried in the Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, Scapa Flow
15 September 1917 Commander Thomas C Heaven RNR appointed in Command
28 April 1918 Acting Commander Norman D Lillia RNR appointed in Command
9 November 1918 T/Sub-Lieutenant James Andrew RNR aged 41 years discharged dead – buried in Great Yarmouth (Caister) Cemetery
9 August 1919 purchased for £95,000 by Cia Naviera Sevillana S.A, Seville and renamed TABLEDA
January 1925 sold to Spanish ship breakers
Notes:
1. The Admiralty paid a total of £55,000 for ARO, SOBO and SOKOTO