SY ''Liberty'' was a steam yacht built in 1908 at Leith, Scotland, for

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

and one of the largest private yachts of its day. She served as a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

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 ...

during

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 ...

Description

The steam yacht ''Liberty'' was designed by G L Watson & Co and launched by Ramage & Ferguson Ltd at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on 5 December 1907. With a tonnage of 1,607 grt, length of and beam of , she was a large yacht by the standards of the day. She had twin screws, powered by two triple expansion steam engines made by the shipbuilder. In addition to the expected high level of luxury, ''Liberty'' was especially fitted with ramps and soundproofing due to Pulitzer's blindness and extreme sensitivity to noise, and was nicknamed "The Tower of Silence".

History

''Liberty'' was built in 1908 at a cost of US$1.5 million for newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who died on board at Charleston, South Carolina on 29 October 1911. She was sold to

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish descent or heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian culture sin ...

businessman James Ross, renamed ''Glencairn'' and registered in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England. Ross sailed around the world in her in 1912, hoping to improve his health, but died the following year. In 1914 she was purchased by

Viscount Tredegar Baron Tredegar, of Tredegar in the County of Monmouth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 April 1859 for the Welsh politician Sir Charles Morgan, 3rd Baronet, who had earlier represented Brecon in Parliame ...

, who reverted her name to the original ''Liberty''. In September 1915 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for the duration of World War I, initially as an auxiliary patrol yacht ''Liberty IV'', though soon transformed at Lord Tredegar's expense to a hospital ship, ''No. 10'', first operating within the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and for much of the time under the command of her owner. She was returned to Lord Tredegar in January 1919. After completion in December 1919 of a refit at Cowes as a yacht, Viscount Tredegar embarked on ''Liberty'' for a six-month cruise in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. After further summer cruising, he sold her to the shipping magnate Sir Robert Houston in September 1920. Following his marriage in 1924, Houston moved his residence to Jersey for tax reasons and also re-registered his yacht there. Like Pulitzer, he died on board the yacht, on 14 April 1926. Left in his will to his wife

Lucy, Lady Houston Dame Fanny Lucy Houston, Lady Houston, Baroness Byron ( Radmall; 8 April 1857 – 29 December 1936) was a British philanthropist, political activist and suffragist. Beginning in 1933, she published the '' Saturday Review'', which was best kn ...

, she lived aboard ''Liberty'' much of the time. In the 1930s, to express her hatred for former prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, she hung a huge electric sign "Down with MacDonald the Traitor" in the rigging and sailed round the British Isles in her. After the death of Lady Houston in 1936, ''Liberty'' was sold to John Cashmore Ltd for scrap and towed to

Newport, Monmouthshire Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest au ...

to be dismantled in January 1938.

References

External links

HMHS Liberty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty Steam yachts Ships built in Leith Hospital ships in World War I 1907 ships Former yachts of New York City