Commemorative greeting card from HMAT WARILDA

Date1915

Object number00050465

NameCard

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: (Closed) 101 x 158 mm

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionOfficial foldout commemorative greeting card from the World War I troopship HMAT WARILDA. HistoryHMAT WARILDA was a 7713 ton vessel, built by William Beardmore and Company in Glasgow for the Adelaide Steamship Company for the east-west Australian coastal service. Following the start of World War I, she was converted into a troopship and later, in 1916, into a hospital ship. Troopship duties included 5 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 9th Battalion embarked from Brisbane for Egypt; 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Infantry Battalion embarked from Sydney for Egypt; 8 November 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Brigade of the AIF, embarked from Sydney, arrived Fremantle on 15 October 1915, and reached Suez on 5 November; 25 May 1916: Tunnelling Companies, 2 Reinforcements embarked Melbourne; 1 June 1916: Tunnelling Company 6, 3rd Tunnelling Company embarked from Fremantle, disembarked Plymouth, England, 18 July 1916. On 3 August 1918, she was transporting wounded soldiers from Le Havre, France to Southampton when she was torpedoed by UC-49, a German submarine. 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 2 hours, and of the 801 persons on board, a total of 123 lives were lost. SignificanceThe sinking of HMAT WARILDA in 1918 was a significant event as at the time she was operating as a hospital ship and by all accounts, despite some limited vision on the day, her hospital markings were clear. There was also mention of the extraordinary bravery of the crew and medical staff on the day in getting the surviving patients to safety. Her captain, Captain Sim, was later awarded the OBE by King George V.