HMHS Anglia

SS Anglia was a steam ship requisitioned for use as a hospital ship during the First World War. On 17 November 1915 she hit a mine laid by the German U-boat, UC-5.

SS Anglia, in 1905
History
United Kingdom
Name: Anglia
Owner: London and North Western Railway
Route: Irish Sea ferry crossings
Builder: Wm Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton, Scotland
Yard number: 619
Launched: 20 December 1899
Completed: 10 April 1900
Fate: Hit a mine laid by German U-boat UC-5 on 17 November 1915.[1]
Notes: Sister ship of SS Hibernia (1899)
General characteristics
Tonnage: 1,862 GRT
Length: 329 ft (100 m)
Beam: 39.1 ft (11.9 m)
Draught: 16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion:
  • Triple expansion engine
  • Twin screws
  • 424hp[2]
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)

History

Anglia was built by Wm Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton, Scotland for the London and North Western Railway and was delivered in 1900. At first she was used on the Holyhead to Dublin North Wall service, then from 1908 on the Holyhead to Kingstown (later named Dún Laoghaire) service. With the outbreak of war she was drafted as a hospital ship.

The hospital ship Anglia

Sinking

On 17 November 1915 Anglia was returning from Calais to Dover, carrying 390 injured officers and soldiers. At around 12:30 pm, 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) east of Folkestone Gate, HMHS Anglia struck a mine and sank in fifteen minutes. The nearby torpedo gunboat HMS Hazard helped evacuate the passengers and crew. Despite the assistance of the nearby collier Lusitania, 134 people died in the sinking.[3][4][5] In October 2014, there were calls for the wreck of the ship to be designated a war grave and protected under the Protection of Military Remains Act, 1986.[5] In March 2017 the wreckage of the HMHS Anglia was declared an official war grave, making it illegal to remove or disturb any human remains at the wreck site.[6]

The hospital ship Anglia sinking

See also

References
  1. "The Sinking of the H.M.H.S. Anglia by a mine laid by a German U-Boat in the Dover Straits". anglesey.info. 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  2. Mackenzie J Gregory (2009). "Auxiliary Hospital Ship Anglia, mined off Folkestone on the 17th. of November 1915. 127, or 164 Dead". Ahoy - Mac's Web Log. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  3. "British Hospital Ship sunk, 85 lost". The New York Times. 18 November 1915. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  4. "Wreck Sites / Info". shorncliffedivecentre.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  5. "WW1 ship wreck off Folkestone 'should be war grave'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  6. http://www.archaeology.org/news/5355-170306-first-world-war-ship

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