RMS ''Empress of France'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

built in 1928 by

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for the

Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

and launched as SS ''Duchess of Bedford'' in 1928. She was renamed ''Empress of France'' in 1947.Haworth, R.B
Miramar Ship Index''Empress of France,'' ID#1160482

''Duchess of Bedford''

''Duchess of Bedford'' was one of four 20,000-gross ton Canadian Pacific liners along with

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s ''Duchess of York'', ''Duchess of Richmond'', and ''Duchess of Atholl''. The quartet were "Mini-''Empress''es," built to go further up the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, past

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, hoping to cater to travellers who would then travel by train to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and the American Midwest – a faster journey than it would take going through New York. All were equipped with hot and cold running water in all cabins. The class were known as the "Drunken Duchesses" for their tendency to roll. Among ''Duchess of Bedford''s better-known passengers in 1931 was

Montagu Norman Montagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron Norman DSO PC (6 September 1871 – 4 February 1950) was an English banker, best known for his role as the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944. Norman led the bank during the toughest period in m ...

, the

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, who was en route from Canada to England when he received word the United Kingdom had permanently abandoned the gold standard. The writer

Elspeth Huxley Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...

worked on her biography of

Lord Delamere Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere, (28 April 1870 – 13 November 1931), styled The Honourable from birth until 1887, was a British peer. He was one of the first and most influential British settlers in Kenya. Lord Delamere was the son of ...

while crossing the Atlantic in 1933.

Troopship

At the outbreak of war in September 1939, ''Duchess of Bedford'' was commandeered by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

to bring civil and military officials from England to India. ''Duchess of Bedford'' was amongst the ships which evacuated Singapore in 1941. ''Duchess of Bedford'' transported 1,955 men of the 18th Infantry Division to Singapore before it fell, departing

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on 19 January 1942 and arriving ten days later. ''Duchess of Bedford'' was joined by an "empress" sister ship in this convoy duty. The troopship SS ''Empress of Japan'' carried 1,981 men of the 18th Division. The convoy departed with evacuees on 30 January. ''Duchess of Bedford'' may best be known for her role in

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

, where, along with , she carried troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, United States from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

stopping briefly in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, to

Arzew Arzew or Arzeu ( ar, أرزيو Berber; ) is a port city in Algeria, 25 miles (40 km) from Oran. It is the capital of Arzew District, Oran Province. History Antiquity Like the rest of North Africa, the site of modern-day Arzew was orig ...

, Algeria where she landed said troops on 8 November 1942 to facilitate the United States' first involvement in the theater and the overall invasion of Axis-held North Africa. After Allied forces successfully drove remaining German and Italian forces from North Africa, she again served, landing troops at Avola in the Invasion of Sicily, and again, with the invasion of the Italian mainland at Salerno. Regarding her involvement in the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943:

''Empress of France''

War losses reduced the Canadian Pacific fleet considerably and only the Liverpool-Montreal route was reopened post war. The two surviving Cabin class Duchesses were upgraded to "Empress" status with much reduced passenger numbers (400 1st, 300 tourist, down from the pre-war three class capacity of 1,570). On 3 March 1947, ''Duchess of Bedford'' arrived at the Govan yard of the

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy ...

for her overhaul and refit, during the course of which (in October 1947) she was renamed ''Empress of France''. Preliminary plans to name the ship ''Empress of India'' were laid aside when India's independence was declared in August 1947.Miller, William H. (2001)
''Picture History of British Ocean Liners, 1900 to the Present,'' p. 66.
/ref> She re-entered service from Liverpool to Montreal on 1 September 1948. In a 1958/1959 refit, her funnel tops were streamlined and her accommodation was revised to 218 1st class and 482 tourist. The ship was taken out of service in 1960; and she was broken up at Newport in late December of the same year.

Notes

References

* Haworth, R.B
Miramar Ship Index''Empress of France,'' ID#1160482
* Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986)
''Transpacific Steam: The Story of Steam Navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867–1941.''
New York: Cornwall Books. (cloth) {{DEFAULTSORT:Empress of France, 1928 1928 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of CP Ships Steamships of Canada Ocean liners of Canada Troop ships of the United Kingdom Troopships of Canada

''Duchess of Bedford''

Troopship

''Empress of France''

See also

Notes

References