TSS ''Hibernia'' was a twin screw steamer

passenger vessel A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

operated by the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

from 1900 to 1914. She was renamed HMS ''Tara'' on requisition 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, Tr ...

in 1914, and sunk in action in November 1915.

History

She was built by

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being built ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

for the

in 1899 and introduced into service in early 1900. She arrived at

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in January 1900, and served in the waters between Dublin and

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

. In 1914 she was requisitioned by the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

as an

armed boarding steamer An armed boarding steamer (or "armed boarding ship", or "armed boarding vessel") was a merchantman that the British Royal Navy converted to a warship during the First World War. AB steamers or vessels had the role of enforcing wartime blockades b ...

and renamed HMS ''Tara''. She was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed by in

Sollum Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...

Bay on the Egyptian coast on 5 November 1915. The

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

saved ''Hibernia''s crew and handed them over to

Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...

tribesmen as prisoners of war (POWs). On 14 March 1916 they were being held at

Bir Hakeim Bir Hakeim ( ar, بئر حكيم, translit=biʾr ḥakīm, lit=Wise Well ; sometimes written ''Bir Hacheim'') is in the Libyan desert at and is the site of a former Ottoman Empire fort built around the site of an ancient Roman well, dating to ...

along with the crew of HMT ''Moorina'', a horse transport. They were rescued by the Duke of Westminster's armoured car brigade, part of the

Western Frontier Force The Western Frontier Force was raised from British Empire troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on 2 ...

. The captain of ''Tara'' at this time was Capt. R. Gwatkin-Williams, R.N.''Steel Chariots in the Desert''. S.C. Rolls, 1937. Leonaur Books. pp. 38-53 The story of ''Tara''s crew is told by Captain Gwatkin-Williams in his book ''Prisoners of the Red Desert, Being a Full and True History of the Men of the Tara''. The POWs were not held in a traditional POW camp, but rather at a desert oasis guarded by a few Turks and Arabs. Although only loosely guarded their escape was prevented by the surrounding desert and their general lack of food and water. Near the end of their captivity, inspired by their hopeless situation, Captain Gwatkin-Williams did attempt escape. After walking through the desert for two days he blundered into an Arab camp while walking at night and was recaptured and returned to Bir Hakeim. After accidentally finding a letter from Captain Gwatkin-Williams to a Turkish officer stating the desperation of the situation at Bir Hakeim, the Duke set off to find the POWs. With a guide who had been to Bir Hakeim some 30 years previously as a boy he set off across the desert estimating that he was about away. Passing the 70 mile estimate and running low on fuel he kept going as long as there was any hope, finding the camp after traversing . Captain Gwatkin-Williams estimated the prisoners were only a few days from death due to starvation when the Duke of Westminster rescued them.Gwatkin-Williams, Captain R.S.; ''Prisoners of the Red Desert, Being a Full and True History of the Men of the Tara''. Thornton Butterworth, LTD, London. Circa 1921.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibernia 1899 ships Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of the London and North Western Railway Maritime incidents in 1915 Armed boarding steamers of the Royal Navy Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Shipwrecks of Egypt