MACHRIE was built in 1900 by Scott &
Sons of Bowling with a tonnage of 251grt, a length of 116ft
10in, a beam of 21ft 6in and a service speed of 8 knots. She
was acquired to assist with transhipment at South African ports
which had become congested following the Boer War and her time
with Union-Castle was destined to be short. In 1905 she was
sold to C.J.Rufino Hamilton of Santa Cruz, retaining her name,
and in 1923 became the Margarita under the ownership of Ramon
de Olalde of Bilbao. When she was transferred back to Tenerife
in 1924 she was renamed Anselmi but when she was again sold
in 1932 to A.Alvarez of Bilbao she reverted to Margarita. He,
however, renamed her Anselmi in 1939 and she continued to serve
until 1965 when she was scrapped.
GALICIAN/GLENART
CASTLE was built in 1900 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 6576grt, a length of 430ft, a beam
of 52ft 2in and a service speed of 12.5 knots. During
construction she was transferred to Union-Castle following
the merger and was never registered as being owned by
the Union Steamship Co. In December 1900, the last of
the ten 'G's, went into service and in the same month
went to Dakar to pick up passengers and mail from the
disabled Dunottar Castle. On 15th August 1914 she was
stopped and boarded by the Armed German Merchant Cruiser
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse south of Tenerife. After several
anxious hours the commander of the German vessel, Max
Reymann, signalled ' I will not destroy you because
of the women and children aboard, Good-bye'. Two days
later the German raider was sunk by HMS Highflyer. When
the ship returned to Southampton she was diplomatically
renamed Glenart Castle and became a hospital ship for
453 patients. In March 1915 she took part in the Gallipoli
campaign and served in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean
during 1916. On 1st March 1917 in calm weather she struck
a mine laid by UC-45 off the Owers Lightship between
Le Havre and Southampton. All 520 sick and wounded were
saved by destroyers and other ships in less than an
hour before the Glenart Castle was towed to Portsmouth
where she was repaired. On 26th February 1918, while
travelling from Newport in South Wales to Brest, she
was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-56 20
miles west of Lundy Island. Only 38 people survived
out of a total crew an medical staff of 206. The picture
is of a painting of the intermediate steamer. (Photo:
from FGO Stuart)
GERMAN
(2) /GLENGORM CASTLE was built in 1898 by Harland & Wolff
at Belfast with a tonnage of 6763grt, a length of 440ft, a beam
of 53ft and a service speed of 12.5 knots. An enlarged sister
of the Gascon (2) she was delivered as the German for the Intermediate
service but on transferring to Union-Castle in 1900 served as
a troopship during the Boer War. In August 1914 she was renamed
Glengorm Castle following the outbreak of war with Germany and
in the September was commissioned as a hospital ship with 423
beds. With British India's Vasna and Varela she was one of the
last hospital ships to be decommissioned in 1921 when they were
replaced by the permanent hospital ship Maine, formerly PSNC's
Panama. She continued to operate as a troopship in the Far East
until 1922-23 when she carried British peace-keeping troops
to Turkey. Returning to Union-Castle in 1925 she served on the
Intermediate service until 1930 when she was broken up in Holland.
ALNWICK CASTLE was built in 1901 by
Wm. Beardmore & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 5893grt,
a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 50ft 2in and a service speed
of 14 knots. One of four sisters she was built as an extra steamer
for the emigrant trade to South Africa and, when that trade
slowed down after the Boer War, spent a lot of time as a fast
cargo carrier. In 1903 she was transferred to the USA - South
Africa route. On 18th March 1915 she arrived at Mudros with
troops and mules and was then deployed as a troop transport
to Gallipoli. Two years later, on 19th March 1917, she was torpedoed
by U-81 310 miles off Bishop Rock during a voyage from Plymouth
to Cape Town with the loss of 40 lives.
BERWICK CASTLE was built in 1902 by
Wm. Beardmore & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 5883grt,
a length of 398ft 2in, a beam of 50ft and a service speed of
14 knots. Sister of the Alnwick Castle she was built for similar
deployment. On 18th March 1904 she rammed and sank the British
submarine A1 off the Nab lightship with the loss of all hands.
The A1 was the first of 14 petrol driven submarines with the
peculiarity that stopping was achieved by shorting out up to
six of the 16 cylinders and allowing compression to slow the
engine revs. The submarine appeared to stop but then surged
ahead and was hit by the Berwick Castle. During the First World
War she continued to operate for Union-Castle and in October
1919 was burnt out at Kilindini, Mombasa. She was towed to Durban
where she remained at anchor until she was purchased by Soc.
Anon. Andora of Genoa and renamed Andora Castle. The machinery
was repaired and she was taken to Italy where she was laid up
and eventually broken up in 1925.
CAWDOR
CASTLE was built in 1902 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 6235grt, a length of 414ft 8in, a beam of
51ft 2in and a service speed of 14 knots. The third of four
sisters she was built as an extra Intermediate steamer for the
emigrant trade to South Africa. When the emigrant trade slowed
down after the Boer War she spent a lot of her time as a fast
cargo carrier and in 1914 was used as a horse transport between
South Africa and France. In April 1915 she carried the Chatham
Battalion of the Royal Marines to Anzac Beach, Gallipoli. On
30th July 1926 she ran aground at Conception Bay in South West
Africa during a voyage from London to Mauritius and became a
total loss. (Photo: National Maritime Museum)
NEWARK CASTLE was built in 1902 by Barclay,
Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 6224grt, a length
of 414ft 8in, a beam of 51ft 2in and a service speed of 14 knots.
She was the last of the class and the names were never repeated.
at noon on 12th May 1908 she sailed from Durban bound for Mauritius
via Delagoa Bay with a crew of 69 and 48 passengers mainly soldiers
of the Mauritius garrison. Six hours later she ran aground on
a shoal four miles out from Richards Bay, Umhlatuzi River near
to Port Durnford on the Zululand coast. The sea was calm and
all the boats were lowered while the captain and some of the
crew remained on board. Later in the day the wind and seas increased
endangering all. The Durban trawler, Elelyn, arrived early next
morning and rescued the occupants of all but one lifeboat. The
remaining boat attempted to reach the shore but was swamped
by the rising sea and three men were drowned. The rough seas
floated the Newark Castle off but the wind then blew her back
onto a sandbank seven miles way where she became a total loss.
YORK CASTLE was built in 1901 by Sir
James Laing & Sons at Sunderland with a tonnage of 5517grt,
a length of 408ft, a beam of 50ft 4in and a service speed of
12 knots. She joined the cargo fleet in May 1901 and joined
the three Union 'S' vessels on a triangular service between
South Africa - USA - UK except during the fruit season when
she traded between South Africa and the USA. In 1924 she was
sold to G. B. Bibolini of Genoa and renamed San Terenzo. After
a short period laid up she was broken up during 1932.
GORDON CASTLE was built in 1901 by Chas
Connell & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4408grt, a length
of 385ft, a beam of 50ft 2in and a service speed of 12 knots.
Similar in profile to the York Castle she was delivered for
the cargo services in June 1901. She had an undistinguished
career and was eventually broken up in 1924.
CORFE CASTLE was built in 1901 by Barclay,
Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 4592grt, a length
of 401ft 8in, a beam of 48ft 27in and a service speed of 12
knots. She was the last of the four ships built for cargo services,
bringing the fleet strength in that department to seven. Sold
to W. Schuchmann of Hamburg in 1927 she was renamed Ostee and
broken up in 1932.
AROS
CASTLE was built in 1901 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 4460grt, a length of 392ft 4in, a beam of
48ft 7in and a service speed of 10 knots. A cargo ship she entered
service in August 1901 on the South Africa - USA route. On 21st
November 1917 she was torpedoed by U-90 300 miles west of Bishop
Rock during a voyage from London to Baltimore in ballast.
(Photo: Tom Rayner Collection)
LOCHGAIR was built in 1888 by Scott
& Sons at Bowling with a tonnage of 111grt, a length of
81ft 7in, and a beam of 18ft 4in. She was acquired in November
1901 to assist with the unloading at Port Elizabeth, a port
that had become congested after the outbreak of the Boer War.
In 1905 she was sold to J. G. Stewart of Glasgow who amended
her name to Loch Gair. However, she did not return to the United
Kingdom but was sold to the Seychelles Trading Co. of Port Elizabeth
who eventually dismantled he in 1926.
BELLONA was built in 1901 by J. Kievits
& von Riede & & Co. at Papendrecht in Holland with
a tonnage of 117grt, a length of 85ft 2in, a beam of 20ft 2in
and a service speed of 7 knots. She was acquired to assist the
Lochgair at Port Elizabeth during the Boer War and retained
after the hostilities ceased. In June 1912 she was wrecked near
Stony Bay at Cape Hangklip.
WALMER
CASTLE (2) was built in 1902 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 12546grt, a length of 570ft 6in, a beam of
64ft 4in and a service speed of 17.5 knots. She was laid down
as the Celt (3) for the Union Line in 1900 but after the merger
was launched as the Walmer Castle and slightly modified to become
the second of six elegant steamships for the Southampton - Cape
Town service. In early 1910 one of her distinguished passengers
was Lord Gladstone who was travelling to South Africa to become
the first Governor General and in the April Rudyard Kipling
returned to the UK on her, one of the twenty voyages he made
with Union-Castle. During 1914 - 1916 she remained on the mail
run and in December 1916 a passage time of 49 days from Tilbury
to Cape Town was the longest ever undertaken by a mailship.
She was quarantined at Plymouth for 21 days before joining a
convoy for Freetown where she stayed for 7 days. Shortly after
sailing for the Cape she was ordered back as the German Raider
Moewe was operating in the area ,further delaying her passage.
In April 1917 she was requisitioned by the Government under
the Liner Requisition Scheme for use as a troopship, trooping
initially from South Africa and then in the North Atlantic appropriately
camouflaged with dazzle paint. During 1919 she made two voyages
between Liverpool and New York for Cunard before returning to
the mail run. She was replaced by the Winchester Castle in 1930,
making her last sailing in the October before being laid up
at Netley as a reserve steamer. She was sold for £13,500
in 1932 and broken up at Blyth by Hughes Bolckow in the February.
(Photo: UPCSC 21/91)
ARMADALE
CASTLE (2) was built in 1903 by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering
Co at Glasgow with a tonnage of 12973grt, a length of 570ft
1in, a beam of 64ft 3in and a service speed of 17.5 knots. Sister
of the Walmer Castle and the first ship to be ordered by Union-Castle
she was, in fact, a development of the Union's Saxon. On 26th
June 1904 she became the first mail steamer to use Cape Town's
new inner quay. She was requisitioned for conversion as an Armed
merchant Cruiser on 2nd August 1914 and joined the 10th Cruiser
Squadron on the 7th August. Resuming commercial service in 1919
she continued until 1935 when she was laid up at Netley. She
undertook one voyage as a replacement for the Winchester Castle
in 1936 before being sold for scrap. (Photo: UCPSC 02/138)
GALICIAN/GLENART
CASTLE was built in 1900 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 6576grt, a length of 430ft, a beam
of 52ft 2in and a service speed of 12.5 knots. During
construction she was transferred to Union-Castle following
the merger and was never registered as being owned by
the Union Steamship Co. In December 1900, the last of
the ten 'G's, went into service and in the same month
went to Dakar to pick up passengers and mail from the
disabled Dunottar Castle. On 15th August 1914 she was
stopped and boarded by the Armed German Merchant Cruiser
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse south of Tenerife. After several
anxious hours the commander of the German vessel, Max
Reymann, signalled ' I will not destroy you because
of the women and children aboard, Good-bye'. Two days
later the German raider was sunk by HMS Highflyer. When
the ship returned to Southampton she was diplomatically
renamed Glenart Castle and became a hospital ship for
453 patients. In March 1915 she took part in the Gallipoli
campaign and served in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean
during 1916. On 1st March 1917 in calm weather she struck
a mine laid by UC-45 off the Owers Lightship between
Le Havre and Southampton. All 520 sick and wounded were
saved by destroyers and other ships in less than an
hour before the Glenart Castle was towed to Portsmouth
where she was repaired. On 26th February 1918, while
travelling from Newport in South Wales to Brest, she
was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-56 20
miles west of Lundy Island. Only 38 people survived
out of a total crew an medical staff of 206. The picture
is of a painting of the intermediate steamer. (Photo:
from FGO Stuart) 
GERMAN
(2) /GLENGORM CASTLE was built in 1898 by Harland & Wolff
at Belfast with a tonnage of 6763grt, a length of 440ft, a beam
of 53ft and a service speed of 12.5 knots. An enlarged sister
of the Gascon (2) she was delivered as the German for the Intermediate
service but on transferring to Union-Castle in 1900 served as
a troopship during the Boer War. In August 1914 she was renamed
Glengorm Castle following the outbreak of war with Germany and
in the September was commissioned as a hospital ship with 423
beds. With British India's Vasna and Varela she was one of the
last hospital ships to be decommissioned in 1921 when they were
replaced by the permanent hospital ship Maine, formerly PSNC's
Panama. She continued to operate as a troopship in the Far East
until 1922-23 when she carried British peace-keeping troops
to Turkey. Returning to Union-Castle in 1925 she served on the
Intermediate service until 1930 when she was broken up in Holland.
CAWDOR
CASTLE was built in 1902 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 6235grt, a length of 414ft 8in, a beam of
51ft 2in and a service speed of 14 knots. The third of four
sisters she was built as an extra Intermediate steamer for the
emigrant trade to South Africa. When the emigrant trade slowed
down after the Boer War she spent a lot of her time as a fast
cargo carrier and in 1914 was used as a horse transport between
South Africa and France. In April 1915 she carried the Chatham
Battalion of the Royal Marines to Anzac Beach, Gallipoli. On
30th July 1926 she ran aground at Conception Bay in South West
Africa during a voyage from London to Mauritius and became a
total loss. (Photo: National Maritime Museum) 
AROS
CASTLE was built in 1901 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow
with a tonnage of 4460grt, a length of 392ft 4in, a beam of
48ft 7in and a service speed of 10 knots. A cargo ship she entered
service in August 1901 on the South Africa - USA route. On 21st
November 1917 she was torpedoed by U-90 300 miles west of Bishop
Rock during a voyage from London to Baltimore in ballast.
WALMER
CASTLE (2) was built in 1902 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast
with a tonnage of 12546grt, a length of 570ft 6in, a beam of
64ft 4in and a service speed of 17.5 knots. She was laid down
as the Celt (3) for the Union Line in 1900 but after the merger
was launched as the Walmer Castle and slightly modified to become
the second of six elegant steamships for the Southampton - Cape
Town service. In early 1910 one of her distinguished passengers
was Lord Gladstone who was travelling to South Africa to become
the first Governor General and in the April Rudyard Kipling
returned to the UK on her, one of the twenty voyages he made
with Union-Castle. During 1914 - 1916 she remained on the mail
run and in December 1916 a passage time of 49 days from Tilbury
to Cape Town was the longest ever undertaken by a mailship.
She was quarantined at Plymouth for 21 days before joining a
convoy for Freetown where she stayed for 7 days. Shortly after
sailing for the Cape she was ordered back as the German Raider
Moewe was operating in the area ,further delaying her passage.
In April 1917 she was requisitioned by the Government under
the Liner Requisition Scheme for use as a troopship, trooping
initially from South Africa and then in the North Atlantic appropriately
camouflaged with dazzle paint. During 1919 she made two voyages
between Liverpool and New York for Cunard before returning to
the mail run. She was replaced by the Winchester Castle in 1930,
making her last sailing in the October before being laid up
at Netley as a reserve steamer. She was sold for £13,500
in 1932 and broken up at Blyth by Hughes Bolckow in the February.
(Photo: UPCSC 21/91) 
ARMADALE
CASTLE (2) was built in 1903 by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering
Co at Glasgow with a tonnage of 12973grt, a length of 570ft
1in, a beam of 64ft 3in and a service speed of 17.5 knots. Sister
of the Walmer Castle and the first ship to be ordered by Union-Castle
she was, in fact, a development of the Union's Saxon. On 26th
June 1904 she became the first mail steamer to use Cape Town's
new inner quay. She was requisitioned for conversion as an Armed
merchant Cruiser on 2nd August 1914 and joined the 10th Cruiser
Squadron on the 7th August. Resuming commercial service in 1919
she continued until 1935 when she was laid up at Netley. She
undertook one voyage as a replacement for the Winchester Castle
in 1936 before being sold for scrap. (Photo: UCPSC 02/138) 
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