SHIP WITH A HISTORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18174, 21 August 1922, Page 6

SHIP WITH A HISTORY.

TWICKENHAM AS TRANSPORT; ji V- . ■ NEARLY FIVE YEARS' SERVICE.fi fc The tramp steamer Twickenham, which ( arrived at Auckland on Saturday morning from Seychelles Islands, via BIuS aai Dujiedin, is one of a line of steamers that played an important part in the war. Sho is owned by the Britain Steamship Company, of London, whose fleet of steamer?, totalling 22„ was engaged in transport work during the war, no fewer than 16 being sunk by the enemy. The Twickenham was. one of . the maa? steamers whose cargo, intended for many,- was taken over by the British - epiment— -her loading consisting of 6000 tons of phosphatesfor Germany loaded Florida, ana 2000 to&s of general cam for Rotterdam, loaded at Savanna. Iter war service started in September, 1814, carrying war material to France, Egypt, and Mudros. After the or fcbsV armistice: she took over from Salonika' a's complete cargo of war material, aroaunition, guns of every calibre, and' food 'of a totsJ value of £1.000,000, to Novnrogsiski. on the>Black Soa, for General Denbkin's ; Novorossisk was at : that time fufPof- refugees, mostly Russian aristocrafcy, feeing from the Bolsheviks. One of the refugees was theUbwager -Erawother of the Tsar, who. was taken to Constantinople on a British war* slaip. Five weeks after the Twiekenhaai left Novorossisk the town fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks, and wita it probably the valuable cargo she had laaaed. The Twickenham was reocinditioned in June, 1919, arid handed over to her owners after having been four years and nine months m the transport service. In September. 1921, she took 7000 tons cf .ebal from England to Odessa for the. Sevwfc Government. Another of the company's steamers, the Molesby, was; at to® iPP™ on a similar mission, ' - - Captain R. C. Craggs has been in command of the vessel ever since she was built in 1912. The Twickenham -last visited Auckland in the early: part; of 1914, her first call having beeat made ui 1913.