Marama's Wonderful War-time Service

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 150, 26 June 1937, Page 31 (Supplement)

Marama's Wonderful War-time Service

Outstanding Record Under Red Cross.

A QUEEN OF HOSPITAL SHIPS.

(By LEE FORE BRACE.)

DOWN through the first century of our island story a long cavalcade

of ships have flown the staremblazoned flag of New Zealand, and some of them have left their names writ large in our history. Every one of these ships, whether she be a humble little coaster or a palatial ocean liner, has a story attached to her name, and no story is more lengthy or more interesting than that which is attached to the name of Marama. In time of peace the comings and goings of our merchant ships cause little comment, and so long as the ships have comfort and speed the average ocean traveller, whether on business or pleasure bent, takes it all as a matter of course. Since she was launched on the bosom of Mother Clyde away back in 1907, tens of thousands of people have travelled the ocean road in her, and one and all speak well of her good qualities, but if one wishes to hear her praises being sung it is necessary to listen to those who travelled aboard her when she was engaged on war service.

Until the coming of the Great War New Zealand had few traditions in her merchant service. But for a transport or two which took troops to the South African War, and a little pirating and blackbirding in the Pacific, the romance of local shipping had been confined almost wholly to fighting with wind and sea, to shipwrecks and other maritime accidents, and to the usual incidents of times of peace. During the Great War the ships of our Dominion played a most important part. As transports and colliers no fewer than 29 New Zealand-owned vessels were taken up by the Government for war service, some of them being employed in fields as far distant as Archangel in the north and Punta Arenas in the south. During this service the voyagings and adventures of these vessels are hidden away in the archives of the Admiralty, and to get their story one must meet the men who manned them. It is a strange fact, yet nevertheless true, that even the owners of these ships had not the slightest knowledge where their ships were or what they were doing after they left New Zealand.

Dominion's Two Hospital Ships. The story relating to the New Zealand hospital ships is, perhaps, better known than that of the transports or colliers. Shortly after the commencement of the Gallipoli campaign the need for a hospital ship to serve the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces made itself keenly felt. As soon as this was made known the people of the Dominion raised the necessary funds to equip such a vessel, and the Union Steam Ship Company's trans-Tasman liner Maheno was chartered and urgently equipped for service. So well did she play her part that in November, 1915, the Imperial Government asked New Zealand to supply, if possible, another vessel for the same purpose. In response to this appeal the Marama was chartered from the same company, taken down to Port Chalmers, and in the incredibly short time of 24 days she was ready for service.

taking sick and wounded aboard at Le Havre and Boulogne, and landing them at either Southampton or Dublin. On this service she made altogether 12 runs, and carried no fewer than 10,346 patients. On September 1, her first commission being almost complete, she returned to the Dominion, via Australia, with 513 cot oases, the majority of them being units of the Australian Imperial Forces! So well had she done her work, and in response to a special request from the War Office, the Marama was recommissioned, this time for an indefinite period.

Aa Ocean Tragedy. After a thorough overhaul the Marama was soon on the road again, but on this commission she had no regular beat to cover, sailing to which ever part of the world her services were most urgently required. As was to be expected the old ship had many exciting adventures when on war service. One would expect that all vessels engaged on such humanitarian work as transporting the sick and wounded would be immune from wilful attack by the enemy. For the first year of her service the Marama had nothing to fear from attack by submarines. The Red Cross of Geneva, so prominently painted on her hull, gave her protection from all enemy craft, but unfortunately, early in 1917, orders were given to all German submarine commanders to 6ink at sight all allied vessels, whether troopships, merchantmen, or hospital ships. Several of the latter were torpedoed and sunk, but knowing the intentions of the enemy every precaution was taken by hospital ship commanders, even if it meant going hundreds of miles out of their course. New Zealand's two hospital ships, Maheno and Marama, were never interfered with by submarines, but the Marama, on on© occasion at least, had close contact with one. In January, 1917, when crossing the Bay of Biscay, on her way to New Zealand with patients, she fell in with an open boat containing seven men and two corpses. Despite the fact that a submarine was known to be in the vicinity a boat was lowered from the Marama, the living survivors brought aboard and given every attention. Despite the most careful nursing two died. It was found that the unfortunate seamen were survivors from the British ship Brookwood, which vessel five days before had been a victim to German frightfulnoss. The survivors had no provisions or water when they escaped from their sinking ship, and had undergone most harrowing privations before being rescued. At Dakar, in Africa, where the Marama called for fuel, it was ascertained that the other boats from the Brookwood had been picked up the day after the vessel foundered, and all hands saved.

Four Men Swept Overboard. Perhaps the most exciting experience which befell Marama in her war service was her narrow escape from disaster in May, 1917. When proceeding from Durban to Capetown with a full complement of patients from Mesopotamia to England, all of whom had been embarked at Bombay, exceptionally bad weather was experienced in the form of phenomenally heavy westerly gales. This had the effect of piling up an exceptionally heavy sea against the strong Agulhas Current, the normal velocity of which is second only to that of the Gulf Stream. The result was an extremely dangerous sea into which Marama had to force her way. On the morning of May 27 she shipped a tremendous roller which completely filled the spar deck and also swept the port side of the promenade deck with incredible force, smashing, doors from their fastenings and sweeping all deck fittings overboard. Another great roller followed the first, and before the ship could recover herself, it too overwhelmed the ship. When the water had cleared away it was 6een that four men had been washed overboard. So great was the force of the seas that the vessel's way was stopped, but no boat could live in that welter of wild waters, so nothing could be done to save the unfortunate men. They were struggling close alongside and then, to the astonishment of those who were watching the tragedy, another sea rolled down on the stricken ship bearing on its crest the struggling men. and as it broke amidships two of them managed to clutch the vessel's rail, to which the}' clung until pulled aboard by the onlookers. The other two. Lieutenant Harrington. of the R.A.M.C.. and Private Cobbe. of the N.Z.M.C., were never seen again.

Very few people realise what it meant to convert a passenger vessel into a hospital ship. In the first place the whole of Marama's passenger accommodation had to be entirely cleared away, all the water piping altered, and the electric lighting system readjusted. The trunks of the ship's two hatches were cut open at the various decks and electric lifts installed in each, these being necessary and large enough to admit of stretchers and attendants being transported up or down to any of the three decks used for hospital purposes. Large skylights were inserted into the hatches themselves. The first class dining saloon was gutted out and therein was installed a magnificent arrangement of operating theatres, X-ray rooms, anaesthetic room, septic or preparation ward, bacteriological laboratory, dispensary, sterilising room, and all the other necessary equipment, equal to any hospital ashore, although on a smaller scale. Altogether 14 wards were installed, containing 750 cots, with room and equipment for another 150 swinging cots for an emergency.

A Model for the Service. When Marama reached England on her first voyage her equipment won the admiration of the highest medical authorities, and great praise was bestowed on the Port Chalmers shipyard workers for the manner and expediency in which they had carried out their task. The manner in which the swinging cots were fitted was copied by the whole of the allied hospital transport service within a month of her arrival, some hospital ships, thereby, increasing their ward accommodation by 200 or more.

On her first errand of mercy the Marama sailed from Wellington on December 5, 1915, bound for Alexandria, in Egypt, and for three months was engaged in conveying sick and seriously wounded men from Mediterranean seats of war to England. In March, 1916, she was placed c~ ■> cross-Channel service,

The Submarine Terror. At the height of the submarine campaign extra precautions were taken to safeguard hospital ships. Prior to this the Red Cross was all the protection they needed, but with the organised sinking of two hospital ships in the English Channel and two in the Mediterranean the Admiralty issued instructions that all such vessels must not sail through the danger zones without an escort of destroyers. ( In December, when passing Gibraltar on her voyage to England, the Marama picked up her escort, which was to safeguard her through the Bay of Biscay. For 36 hours the speedy little warships circled round her, but a heavy gale being met with

at the southern end of the Bay, the destroyers had to return to port owing to the fact that they were unmanageable in the heavy sea. Instructions were given the Marama to proceed on a zig-zag course, and with the coming of night all lights were to be extinguished. Night comes on quickly in the winter months in the northern latitudes, and by 4 p.m. the Marama had to slow down to give comfort to the sick and wounded. At 5 pan. she received radio instructions to proceed on a certain course, and should the gale ease off a cruiser would meet her at 3 a.m. on the following morning, to escort her over the remainder of the voyage. Officers state that all through her war service thk was the most exciting night ever experienced. All round her were units of a scattered convoy, each of them asking for instructions, and at times the continual S.O.S. call from ships being attacked. Intermingled with these calls came others from the Admiralty indicating the positions of active submarines., and these various positions were in an exact line with the Marama's course. Instructions had been given that on no account must any radio signal be sent out unless it was one of emergency. "Will Meet Ton at 4.4S ajn." At midnight a distant call giving the Marama's secret call number was received asking for her position, course and speed. No reply was sent in answer to the request, but some 15 minutes later a peremptory order was received from the Admiralty in secret code asking for an immediate reply, and this was done. A few moments later back came the reply, "Will meet you at 4.45 a.m. Keep all lights extinguished." The gale was still at its height, the ship was only making about six knots against the gale, and what with the darkness and the heavy rain, it was thought by the officers of the Marama that it would be absolutely impossible for any escort to find her in the blackness. At 4.40 a.m. a wireless signal came in so 6trongly that the wireless operator remarked that his ear drums were hurt by the noise. "Marama, show navigatipn lights!" was the message, and simultaneously, less than 1000 yards distant, the lights of a large cruiser were switched on as the Marama showed here. The cruiser, only five minutes out in her appointment, had found the Marama, and as soon as the Marama had given her secret number the Morse lamp on the cruiser ticked out her orders. 'TCeep your course and speed until daylight. Report any strange lights. I shall keep ahead of you on same course and speed." Nothing more happened until daylight came, and less than a mile ahead was a great cruiser, which kept watch and ward over the Marama until she handed her safely over to a fleet of destroyers met with at the entrance to the English Channel.

A Wonderful Record. The Marama's log books during her war service make interesting reading Among the places visited by her outside the United Kingdom were Melbourne Adelaide, Fremantle, Singapore, Port Swettenham, Penang. Colombo, Bombay, Aden. Suez, Port Said, Mudros, Anzac Bay. Cette. Salonika, Stavros. Malta. Boulogne, Durban. Capetown. Sierra Leone, Cristobal, Balboa, Colon. Papeete and Pitcairn Island. Up to the end of her Red Cross service she had the wonderful record of transporting no fewer than 35,023 patients, and steamed a total distance of 278,803 nautical miles.

The Marama was the first hospital ship to come out to New Zealand via the Panama Canal. On her first voyage by that route, everyone who travelled on her was loud in his praises for the splendid kindness and attention shown to the patients. The white residents of the Canal zone, not only on her first trip, but on all subsequent occasions, adopted the Marama as their favourite.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Marama'* war career is the fact that of all the many thousands of sick and wounded who travelled in her there were only 13 deaths, which included the two who were drowned. This is a record which is unique in the history of hospital ships, and one which even to-day is commented on by all historians who have dealt with this special phase of war service. Among lier patients were men of many nation" alities—New Zealanders, Australians. Canadians, Newfoundlanders, Americans, South Africans, Indians, Arabs, Belgians. Egyptians. Greeks, Bermudians, Nigerians, Fijians, Chinese. Russians, and last, but by no means least, 3042 Germans.

A Somme Memory. With the passing of the Mara ma manv pictures of the old ship will come to the memory of those who voyaged with her. Some will see her nosing' into a Tasman gale, her glossy green sides white with the salt of the sea. Others, when on pleasure hent. will picture her lvin<j in the placid waters of the Bav of'islands bedecked from truck to deck with bunting when on one of her coastal excursions. A sadder memory will come to many who with her braved the mines and submarines of the English Channel. In those far-off days she sneaked alon? the coastline in the murk and darkness of a winter's night, feeling her way as it were, never knowing what was going to happen next. Perhaps the "most tragic picture of all in the life of the Marama was to be seen when she lav alongside the quay at Boulogne and embarked no fewer than 1314 broken men. a weary, suffering, groaning company, some of the human remnants brought down from the Somme. Wounded men lay everywhere, some of them still plastered with the mud of the trenches; every inch of her space was crammed with suffering humanity, but intermingled with the groans one could hear the strains of "Tipperary" coming from a ward on a lower deck. Some were happy despite their wounds because they were going back to Blighty. These and a thousand other pictures are blended with the Marama, and as she leaves us to meet her end in a shipbreaker's yard sLe knows full well that she leaves behind a memory of faithful service.