SS Rohilla
| 300px The steamship Rohilla grounded off the coast of England, 1914 | |
| Career (UK) | 60px |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Rohilla |
| Builder: | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
| Christened: | Not christened |
| Completed: | 1906 |
| In service: |
1906 Southampton to Karachi 1908 as a hospital ship |
| Fate: | At around 4:00 a.m. on 30 October 1914, the Rohilla struck a notorious reef system known as "Whitby Rock" at Saltwick just south of Whitby harbour. |
| Status: | Sunk |
| Notes: | 7,114 tons gross[1] |
SS Rohilla was a steamship of the British India Steam Navigation Company which ran aground in 1914 while serving as HMHS Rohilla (His Majesty's Hospital Ship Rohilla).
The steamship was named Rohilla in honour of Rohillas. Rohillas were Afghan highlanders (Roh means mountains and Rohilla literally means mountaineer or highlander) that entered India as adventurers and took up employment with the Mughal Empire as well as local Nawabs and Afghan officers. Later they established their own territory in northern India renamed Rohilkhand, now part of Uttar Pradesh state of India. They were formidable warriors and were both reviled and respected by the Indians and the British.
History
Rohilla (7,114 tons gross) was built in 1906 in Belfast by Harland & Wolff as ship number 381 and launched on the 6 September. The vessel was built as a passenger and cruise liner and was registered at Glasgow. After her launch the Rohilla entered the London to India service operating from Southampton to Karachi throughout the winter months, (it would have been very warm attempting the India run during the summer months). In 1908 she joined her sister ship the HMHS Rewa as a permanent troop ship, being designated No.6. In 1910 the Rohilla conveyed members of the House of Lords to the Coronation Naval Review of King George V at Spithead, whilst her sister ship Rewa conveyed members of the House of Commons.
Service as hospital ship
It was not until the 6th August 1914 World War I that the Rohilla was finally requisitioned as a Naval hospital ship. After being requisitioned the Rohilla was adapted to accommodate her new role as passenger accommodation was converted to hospital wards and the ship was equipped with two operating theatres, fitted with complete X-ray appliances. The work continued day and night in an effort to make her ready as quickly as possible. Overseeing the work was the captain of the Rohilla, David Landles Neilson. Captain Neilson had worked hard in his career qualifying as a Second Mate when only eighteen years old, finally being awarded a Master Mariners Certificate when he was almost forty. He was given command of the Rohilla when she was built, spending his whole career with the British India Steam Navigation Company.
Based temporarily in Scapa Flow the Rohilla received an unexpected Royal visit, when Prince Albert was brought onboard suffering with appendicitis. The nineteen-year-old prince was serving on HMS Collingwood as a midshipman when taken ill. The Rohilla was dispatched to Aberdeen to rendezvous with the Royal Surgeon travelling up from London by train. After arriving at the mainland the Prince was taken ashore by men from the Barnoldswick Ambulance brigade who had been responsible for his care, and transferred to the hospital where two days later he was successfully operated on.
Sinking
Captain Nielson was in new territory when sailing south through the North Sea. He had to contend with, German submarines, and mines scattered around the coastline in uncharted minefields. Under war time restrictions the crew had to navigate their route using dead reckoning for navigation. Whilst war time restrictions meant that navigation lights were turned off and landmarks were therefore invisible, a fierce gale did little to help keep accurate courses. At around 4:00 a.m. on 30 October 1914, the Rohilla struck a notorious reef system known as "Whitby Rock" at Saltwick just south of Whitby harbour.
Although the ship was grounded only 600 yards from the shore the weather made any rescue attempt perilous, within minutes however, the coastguard had fired off the explosive maroons alerting the town to the unfolding drama. Six lifeboats belonging to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution effected a rescue operation lasting fifty hours. Today the Rohilla tragedy is still listed as one of the worst services the R.N.L.I. has attended.
The final fifty souls were rescued by the Tynemouth motor lifeboat which had travelled south down the coast in the same gale the Rohilla had suffered. Coxswain Robert Smith and his 2nd Coxswain James Brownlee were accompanied by Major Burton. Burton was awarded an Empire Gallantry Medal on the 30th of June 1924 for his bravery, this was later changed to a George Cross in 1940 when the award was instituted
Amongst those resued from Rohilla was Mary Keziah Roberts, who had survived the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. She described the loss of the Rohilla as more harrowing than that of the Titanic. Many of the 229 people on board were saved, although 85 died in the tragedy.[2]
The first funeral was held on the Wednesday after the sinking and was attend by most Whitby inhabitants, many of those who aided in the rescue efforts, company representatives and local dignitaries. Most of the bodies recovered were interred at Whitby Cemetery whilst others were claimed by relatives and interred in their own home towns. The owners of the Rohilla, the British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd erected a significant memorial a short while later dedicated to its officers and crew but also to the men that perished along with them.
See also
Further reading
- Brittain, Colin: Into the Maelstrom: The Wreck of HMHS Rohilla. (The History Press, 2002) ISBN 0-7524-2384-3
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