SS ''Gwendolen'' (sometimes misspelled ''Guendolen'' and ''Gwendolyn'') was a British steamship on

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

that fought in the first naval action of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

against the German steamship '' Hermann von Wissman'' which it caught on a slipway at Sphinxhafen, now known as

Liuli Liuli, formerly known as Sphinx Hafen (german: Sphinxhafen), is a settlement on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi in the Mbinga District of Ruvuma province. It is notable for being the site of the first naval action of World War I. The sphinx roc ...

. The 350-ton vessel was launched at Fort Johnston in 1899, and named after Lady Gwendolen Cecil, the then 29-year-old unmarried daughter of the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...

. In 1907 the ''Gwendolen'' was the largest of three vessels formerly used as gunboats, the others being the and the ''Queen Victoria'', with four civilian steamers on the lake. From 1914 she was commanded by Captain Edmund Rhoades, who attacked the ''Hermann von Wissman'', the vessel of his friend and former drinking partner Captain Berndt, by surprise, with Berndt having been unaware that war had started.

William Percival Johnson William Percival Johnson (12 March 1854 in St Helens, Isle of Wight – October 1928 in Liuli, Tanganyika) was an Anglican missionary to Nyasaland. After education at Bedford School (1863–1873) and graduation from University College, Oxfor ...

later recalled that Captain Berndt, who had been master of the German vessel for its original purpose as an anti-slavery gunboat in the 1890s, had been a good friend of the British missionaries in the days of

Chauncy Maples Chauncy Maples (1852 – 2 September 1895) was a British clergyman and Anglican missionary who became Bishop of Likoma, with a diocese in East Africa. Early life Born at Bound's Green in 1852, he was the son of Frederick Maples, a solicitor, ...

. In the 1920s the

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

Government Marine Transport ran a monthly sailing of SS ''Gwendolen'' from Fort Johnston carrying goods and passengers on a 15-day round trip around various ports on the lake. "For many years the Nyasaland Government Marine Transport operated a monthly sailing of the SS ''Guendolen'' from Fort Johnson carrying goods and passengers to various ports on the Lake, the round trip taking 15 days."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwendolen Lake Malawi 1899 ships Ships of Malawi