HMAT ''Warilda'' (His Majesty's Australian Transport) was a 7713-ton vessel, built by

William Beardmore and Company William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...

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 ...

as the SS ''Warilda'' for the

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company and later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods b ...

. She was designed for the East-West Australian coastal service, but following the start of the

First World War 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 ...

, she was converted into a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

and later, in 1916, she was converted into a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

. Her identical sister ships, also built by William Beardmore and Company, were SS ''Wandilla'' (1912) and SS ''Willochra'' (1913).

Time as a troopship

* 5 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 9th Battalion embarked from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

heading to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

.: 15 Batt embarked Brisbane HMAT A69 Warilda same date * 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Infantry Battalion embarked from Sydney heading to Egypt. * 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force, AIF, embarked from Liverpool, New South Wales, Liverpool, NSW, Australia. The ship arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia on 15 October 1915, and reached Suez on 5 November, when the troops were disembarked. * 25 May 1916: Tunneling Companies, 2 Reinforcements embarked Melbourne. * 1 June 1916: Tunneling Company 6, 3rd Tunneling Company embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia 1 June 1916. Disembarked Plymouth, England, 18 July 1916.

Sinking

On 3 August 1918, she was transporting wounded soldiers from Le Havre, France to Southampton when she was torpedoed by the German submarine SM UC-49, ''UC-49''. This was despite being marked clearly with the Red Cross; as with a number of other hospital ships torpedoed during the war, Germany claimed the ships were also carrying arms. The ship sank in about two hours, and of the 801 persons on board, 123 died when the ''Warilda'' sank. The Deputy Chief Controller of the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corp, Mrs Violet Long, lost her life in this action. Amongst the survivors was her commander, Captain Sim, who was later awarded the OBE by George V of the United Kingdom, King George V.Dictionary of ship names
/ref> Her wreck lies in the English Channel

Images

References

External links

Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
Transporting the First Australian Imperial Force, 1st AIF.
WARILDA picture by Green, Allan C.

Photo at Picture Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warilda World War I auxiliary ships of Australia World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in 1918 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Hospital ships in World War I Ships built on the River Clyde 1911 ships Hospital ships of the United Kingdom Iron and steel steamships of Australia Adelaide Steamship Company