HMT Royal Edward

RMS (later HMTHMT stands for hired military transport.) ''Royal Edward'' was a passenger ship belonging to the Canadian Northern Steamship Company that was sunk during the First World War with a large loss of life while transporting Commonwealth troops. She was launched in 1907 as RMS ''Cairo'' for a British mail service to Egypt.

Design and construction

''Cairo'' and sister ship ''Heliopolis'' were built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Scotland. ''Cairo'' was launched in July 1907 and entered service in January 1908. As built, she was long ( overall) and abeam. She was powered by three steam turbines that drove three propeller shafts, at up to . She could accommodate up to 1,114 passengers in three classes: 344 in first class, 210 in second class, and 560 in third.

Prewar career

''Cairo'' entered service for the Egyptian Mail Steamship Company, a British-owned company that provided a fast mail service between Marseilles and Alexandria. The service was not successful and ''Cairo'' and sister ship ''Heliopolis'' were laid up in 1909 when the service ended.

Both ships were sold to the newly established Toronto-based Canadian Northern Steamship Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian Northern Railway, in 1910, operating under its Royal Line brand. ''Cairo'' was renamed ''Royal Edward'', ''Heliopolis'' ''Royal George'', and they were refitted for the North Atlantic. ''Royal Edward'' sailed from Avonmouth to Montreal in the summer and to Halifax in the winter. At the outbreak of World War I ''Royal Edward'' and ''Royal George'' were requisitioned for use as troopships.

World War I

''Royal Edward'' was used to bring Canadian troops to Europe before being used as an internment ship anchored off Southend-on-Sea."British Troop Ship Sunk." Times ondon, England18 Aug. 1915: 7+. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 June 2015.

On 28 July 1915, ''Royal Edward'' embarked 1,367 officers and men at Avonmouth. The majority were reinforcements for the British 29th Infantry Division, with members of the Royal Army Medical Corps. All were destined for Gallipoli.Wise and Baron, pp. 75–76. ''Royal Edward'' was reported off the Lizard on the evening of 28 July, and had arrived at Alexandria on 10 August, a day after sister ship ''Royal George'' had sailed from Devonport. ''Royal Edward'' sailed for Moudros on the island of Lemnos, a staging point for the Dardanelles.Wise and Baron, p. 76.

On the morning of 13 August, ''Royal Edward'' passed the British hospital ship , heading in the opposite direction. ''Oberleutnant zur See'' Heino von Heimburg in the German submarine was off the island of Kandeloussa and saw both ships. He allowed ''Soudan'' to pass unmolested, and focused his attention on the unescorted ''Royal Edward'' some off Kandelioussa.Wise and Baron, p. 77. He launched one of ''UB-14''s two torpedoes from about away and hit ''Royal Edward'' in the stern. She sank by the stern within six minutes.

''Royal Edward'' was able to get off an SOS before losing power, and ''Soudan'' arrived on the scene at 10:00 after making a 180° turn and rescued 440 men in six hours. Two French destroyers and some trawlers rescued another 221. According to authors James Wise and Scott Baron, ''Royal Edward''s death toll was 935 and was high because ''Royal Edward'' had just completed a boat drill and the majority of the men were below decks re-stowing their equipment. Other sources report different numbers of casualties, from 132 to 1,386 or 1,865.Gilbert, p. 185. An Admiralty casualty list, published in ''The Times'' in September 1915, named 13 officers and 851 troops as missing believed drowned, a total of 864 lost, including posthumous Victoria Cross recipient Cuthbert Bromley and footballer Walter Miller."Deaths." Times ondon, England6 Sept. 1915: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 13 June 2015.

Gallery

Photos taken aboard the hospital ship ''Soudan''.

File:Survivors of the Royal Edward in Hospital Gowns.jpg, Survivors of ''Royal Edward'' in hospital gowns
File:Boat for hospital ship Soudan.jpg, Boat from the hospital ship ''Soudan'' looking for survivors
File:Survivors boarding the Soudan.jpg, Survivors of HMT ''Royal Edward'' boarding ''Soudan''
File:Survivors on the rope ladder.jpg, Survivors on the rope ladder
File:Survivors on upturned boat.jpg, Survivors of HMT ''Royal Edward'' on an upturned boat
File:Two boats of the Royal Edward.jpg, Two boats of ''Royal Edward'' as sighted by ''Soudan''

See also

* List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines

Notes

References

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

IWM Interview with survivor Arthur Bonney

IWM Interview with survivor Harold Barrow

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Edward
Ships built in Govan
1907 ships
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Troop ships of the Royal Navy
Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I
World War I shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea
Maritime incidents in 1915
Passenger ships of Canada