HMS ''Al Rawdah'' was a ship of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She was built in 1911 and originally christened ''Chenab'' for the

Nourse Line Nourse is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan E. Nourse, (1928–1992), American science fiction author and physician *Alice Tisdale Hobart, Alice Nourse (1882–1967), American novelist *Amos Nourse (1794–1877), American me ...

of London. In 1930 the ship was sold to

Khedivial Mail Steamship & Graving Dock The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brou ...

and renamed ''Ville De Beyrouth''. In 1939 the ship was sold again and renamed ''Al Rawdah''. In 1940 the British Ministry of Shipping requisitioned the vessel and she was managed by the

British-India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

Ltd. In 1946 ''Al Rawdah'' was returned to her owners, and scrapped in 1953.

Internment

Between 1940 and 1946 the vessel (described as a "hulk") was used as a military base and prison ship for

Irish Republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

internees and prisoners. Internment on the ''Al Rawdah'' began in 1939 as it was moored just off

Killyleagh Killyleagh (; ) is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the A22 road between Belfast and Downpatrick, on the western side of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,483 people in the 2001 Census. It is best ...

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

. Conditions on board the ageing ship were not good - food was described as "abominable" by survivors. Internees were packed in "bronchitic squalor" for months or years. On 18 November 1940 Irish Republican internee Jack Gaffney from Belfast died onboard the Al Rawdah.MacEoin, Uinseann (1997), ''The IRA in the twilight years 1923–1948'', Argenta Publications, Dublin, pg 948, ISBN 0951117246 Some of the Irish detainees placed in the hold of ''Al Rawdah'' had also been interned on the British prison ship .

References

External links

Info on ''Al Rawdah''
Fleet auxiliaries of the United Kingdom Defunct prisons in Northern Ireland Prison ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Navy 1911 ships Internment camps Internment camps in the United Kingdom {{UK-prison-stub

Internment

See also

References

External links