HMAT Shropshire explained

HMAT Shropshire (His Majesty's Australian Transport), originally SS Shropshire, was a 11,911-ton vessel, built by John Brown and Company in Clydebank, Glasgow, for the Federal Steam Navigation Company. She was employed on passenger and meat trade between New Zealand and Great Britain, but due to the First World War, she was converted into a troopship.^{[1] [2]} She was leased by the Australian Commonwealth Government until 5 August 1917, when the British Admiralty took over control of the ship.

Time as a troopship

HMAT Shropshire undertook the following journeys as a troopship in World War I:^{[3] [4]}

• 20 October 1914 from Melbourne^[5]
• 17/20 March 1915 from Sydney/Melbourne to Alexandria
• 20 August 1915 from Sydney
• 31 March 1916 from Fremantle to Port Suez
• 25 September 1916 from Melbourne
• 11 May 1917 from Melbourne

Later use and fate

In 1923, the ship was renamed Rotorua for the New Zealand Shipping Company. On 11 December 1940, it became a casualty of World War Two, when it was torpedoed by the German U-boat submarine off St Kilda, with 104 rescued and 21 lives lost.

Notes and References

1. Web site: HMAT A9 Shropshire during the Great War . The Wartime Memories Project . 15 October 2023 .
2. Web site: Troopships – The Forgotten Ships of WW1 . sea.museum . . 13 February 2014 . 15 October 2023 .
3. Web site: AWM244 Shropshire – Troopship movement cards, 1914–18 War: HMAT Shropshire (A9) . awm.gov.au . . Australia . 15 October 2023 . 14 October 2021 .
4. Web site: The transport ship SS Shropshire carrying troops to England . awm.gov.au . . Australia . 15 October 2023 .
5. Web site: HMAT Shropshire and HMAT Wiltshire sail from Port Melbourne. Aboard the Shropshire is 1277 Gunner ... . Lyall . Hilda . awm.gov.au . . Australia . 15 October 2023 . 1914 .