HMAT A7 Medic
From Our Contribution
 | |
 Medic departing from Sydney (State Library of New South Wales FL1160526.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMAT A7 Medic |
| Owner | White Star Line |
| Builder | Harland & Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number | 323 |
| Launched | 15 Dec 1898 |
| Completed | 6 July 1899 |
| Out of service | 1927 |
| In service | 1928 |
| Out of service | 12 Sep 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk, 12 Sep 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger / cargo vessel |
| Tonnage | 11,985 tons |
| Length | 550 ft 2 in (167.69 m) |
| Beam | 63 ft 3 in (19.28 m) |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 14 knots (25.93 kph) |
| Capacity | 320 passengers |
Contents
- 1 Remarks
- 2 Soldiers carried
- 2.1 Adelaide to Alexandria 20 October - 5 December 1914
- 2.2 Fremantle to Alexandria 9 October 1915 - ??
- 2.3 Sydney to Alexandria 30 December 1915 - 16 February 1916
- 2.4 Fremantle to Port Suez 31 March - 24 April 1916
- 2.5 Melbourne to Plymouth 20 May - 18 July 1916
- 2.6 Sydney to Halifax 1 August - 21 September 1917
- 2.7 England to Fremantle 24 August - 15 October 1918
- 2.8 England to Melbourne 10 April - 31 May 1919
- 2.9 Bombay to Fremantle 1 - 22 December 1919
- 2.10 Other Voyages
Remarks
Built for the Oceanic Steam Navigation Co Ltd (White Star Line), and used on the UK to Sydney via Cape Town route. Capable of carrying 320 cabin class passengers. Her first return voyage involved carrying Victorian, Tasmanian and Western Australian troops to the Boer War.
Leased by the Commonwealth at the outset of WW1, she made six journeys from Australia as a troop ship, after which her management was transferred to he British Admiralty. The Medic was a participant in the 1st convoy from Albany to Egypt. On her return to Australia she was converted at Cockatoo Island Drydock to transport 531 troops and 500 horses.
In 1928 she was renamed Hektoria by new owners A/S Hektor (N. Bugge), Tønsberg and converted to a whale factory ship by H. & C. Grayson, Liverpool Now 13,834 tons. The ship was torpedoed and sunk by U-211 and U-608, on 11 Sep 1942, at 48.55N-33.38W, while on a voyage from Liverpool to New York, in ballast as part of Convoy ON 127.
Soldiers carried
Adelaide to Alexandria 20 October - 5 December 1914
Note: Embarked from Fremantle on 31 October 1914 and anchored for two days before sailing on 2 November 1914, which is the date that appears on original records.
- † Alexander Barnett
- Walter Bell Blair
- James (Roy) Braidwood MM MID
- Leonard Henry (Lennie) Buckingham MM
- John James Lynes Chester
- † Edward (Ted) Harry Darby
- Frederick Fancote
- Cecil Arthur Hill MM
- Charles Richard Irvine MM & Bar
- James Anthony Parker
- Arthur Pilgrim
- Henry John Robert Saint
- Josiah James Skinner
- William Stephens
- † John Wesley Gladstone Turner
Fremantle to Alexandria 9 October 1915 - ??
- Walter Raymond Farnham as a stowaway
Sydney to Alexandria 30 December 1915 - 16 February 1916
Embarked in Fremantle on 18 January
- † Leonard Butcher
- † Herbert Goodman
- William John Howe
- † John Richard Lewis
- † Frederick Thornton Lindley
- William Mathews
- Aubrey Walter (Swazz) Mead
- Charles Robert Merchant
- Richard Edgar Riley
- † Albert Edward John Walls
Fremantle to Port Suez 31 March - 24 April 1916
Melbourne to Plymouth 20 May - 18 July 1916
Sydney to Halifax 1 August - 21 September 1917
England to Fremantle 24 August - 15 October 1918
England to Melbourne 10 April - 31 May 1919
Bombay to Fremantle 1 - 22 December 1919
Other Voyages
- 2 June 1915 from Brisbane
- 16 December 1916 from Melbourne
- 1 August 1917 from Sydney
- 2 November 1918 from Sydney