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Welcome to BirtwistleWiki

Our Contribution is a place to discover people from the Armadale and Serpentine-Jarrahdale Districts who served in the Great War 1914-1918. So far there are 4,239 articles and this number is growing as more information becomes available. If you would like to make a contribution or correct some facts then please contact us

Main Categories

View alphabetical listings of all soldiers, nurses, and sailors in the BirtwistleWiki.

Social Categories

Focusing on pre-war life, social groupings, and associated districts these categories help to give a picture of the community.

War Related Categories

These categories look at life during the war, tracking movements, wounds, and deaths.

Group Categories

Many soldiers travelled together, fought together, and were remembered together. This is a great starting place to look at the interactions between soldiers.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.

Featured Ship: HMAT A32 Themistocles

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HMAT A32 Themistocles.jpg
HMAT A32 Themistocles 2.jpg
Themistocles in Sydney Harbour with lighters alongside
History
Name HMAT A32 Themistocles
Owner Aberdeen Line
Builder Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number 412
Launched 2 Sep 1910
Completed 1911
In service 16 Feb 1911
Out of service 1946
Fate scrapped 1947
General characteristics
Type Ocean Liner
Tonnage 11,231 tons
Length 500.6 ft (152.58m)
Beam 63.3 ft (19.29m)
Propulsion twin screw
Speed 15 knots
Capacity crew plus 102 x 1st class, 400 x 3rd class and 500 emigrant class passengers



Remarks

Original owner was the Aberdeen Line, later sold to the Shaw, Saville & Albion Line for routes to Melbourne, Australia via Cape Town. The trip to Melbourne took 40 days.


Served during WW1 as a troopship under the control of the Commonwealth until 20 Oct 1917 before being transferred to the British Admiralty. While controlled by the Transport Branch of the Australian Navy she undertook 7 journeys with troops from Australia to either Egypt or England. She carried elements of the First Australian Imperial Force for service overseas in sailings from Melbourne on 22 December 1914, Sydney on 12 May 1915, Fremantle on 23 July 1915, Sydney and Fremantle on 8 and 13 October 1915, Melbourne on 28 January and 28 July 1916, Fremantle on 13 October 1916, Sydney on 29 December 1916 and Melbourne on 4 August 1917.


During WW2 the Themistocles was used on trans Atlantic convoys. Between the wars and after WW2 she returned to servicing the Australian route making a total of 79 voyages to Australia during her lifetime. She was laid up at the end of June 1947, and scraped on 24 Aug 1947 at Dalmuir.

Soldiers carried

Sydney to Alexandria 22 December 1914 - 1 February 1915

Embarked in Fremantle on 2 January or earlier as some troops joined ship much earlier than the day she sailed.

Sydney to Port Suez 12 May - 30 June 1915

Embarked in Fremantle on 9 June

Alexandria to Fremantle 13 August - 10 September 1915

Fremantle to Port Suez 13 October 1915 - ?? November 1915

Alexandria to Lemnos Island 15 - 18 November 1915

Alexandria to Marseilles France 16 March - 21 March 1916

Portsmouth to Fremantle 4 May - 24 Jun 1917

Portsmouth to Fremantle 5 November - 23 December 1917

Other Voyages

  • 28 January 1916 from Melbourne
  • 28 July 1916 from Melbourne, Victoria
  • 29 December 1916 from Sydney, New South Wales
  • 4 August 1917 from Melbourne, Victoria