HMAT Warilda explained

HMAT Warilda (His Majesty's Australian Transport) was a 7713-ton vessel, built by William Beardmore and Company in Glasgow as the SS Warilda for the Adelaide Steamship Company.^[1] She was designed for the East-West Australian coastal service, but following the start of the First World War, she was converted into a troopship and later, in 1916, she was converted into a hospital ship.

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 heading to Egypt.:^[2] 15 Batt embarked Brisbane HMAT A69 Warilda same date^[3]
• 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Infantry Battalion embarked from Sydney heading to Egypt.^[4]
• 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Brigade of the AIF, embarked from 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.^[5]
• 25 May 1916: Tunneling Companies, 2 Reinforcements embarked Melbourne.^[6]
• 1 June 1916: Tunneling Company 6, 3rd Tunneling Company embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia 1 June 1916. Disembarked Plymouth, England, 18 July 1916.^[7]

Sinking

On 3 August 1918, HMAT Warilda was transporting wounded soldiers from Le Havre, France to Southampton when she was torpedoed by the German submarine UC-49.^[8] 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.^[9]

The ship sank in about two hours, and of the 801 persons on board, 123 died due to the sinking. The Deputy Chief Controller of the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corp, Mrs Violet Long, lost her life in this action.^[10] Among the survivors was her commander, Captain Sim, who was later awarded the OBE by King George V.^[11] Her wreck lies in the English Channel.^[12]

External links

• Australian Light Horse Studies Centre His Majesty's Australian Transports HMAT Ships, Transporting the 1st AIF.
• WARILDA picture by Green, Allan C.
• Photo at Picture Australia

Notes and References

1. http://members.iinet.net.au/~dodd/gail/memorial/hughie/warilda.html Memorial to the Warilda
2. Web site: Bede Septimus Connell's obituary . 10 October 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060920035300/http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/index.asp?id=974 . 20 September 2006 . dead .
3. WW1 War Service Record SMITH HJ 3093
4. http://gunningnsw.info/index.php/articles/386 Private Cecil Henry obituary
5. Hawke, John Robertson, 1890-1965, John Robertson Hawke collection guide (1915-1919). University of Wollongong Archives, accessed 25/02/2023, https://archivesonline.uow.edu.au/nodes/view/8691
6. Web site: Corporal ARTHUR WILLIAM JAMES MAGGS' obituary . 10 October 2006 . 26 January 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070126082929/http://home.iprimus.com.au/kymh/horgan_hayes.htm . dead .
7. Web site: Sgt Joseph ALLEN obituary . 6 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060821011525/http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/showPerson?key=ALLEN%2FJ%2F4224 . 21 August 2006 . dead .
8. Web site: Adventuredivers.co.uk, Warilda . 9 October 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060620180714/http://www.adventuredivers.co.uk/Wrecks/Warilda.html . 20 June 2006 . dead .
9. Web site: Adventuredivers.co.uk, Lanfranc . 9 October 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060219142556/http://adventuredivers.co.uk/Wrecks/LanFranc.html . 19 February 2006 . dead .
10. Web site: War Wrecks . netspace.net.au .
11. Web site: Dictionary of ship names . perso.orange.fr .
12. Web site: 6 August 1918. Wounded drown at night . The New York Times. 21 August 2009 .