Exhibition: Hospital + Troop Ships

An exhibition showing how the ships and crews of the Mercantile Marine met the need in the First World War to transport troops from Britain, its Empire and Allies to fronts around the world and bring home the wounded. ‘Hospital + Troop Ships’ is on until 25th May, admission free, on board a ship in central London.

In 1914, 43% of the world’s merchant ships, some 20 million tons gross and the largest fleet in the world, was owned and operated by Britain and the Dominions. Keeping Britain in business, the ships brought in food and raw materials, exporting industry’s output to the world. Those roles became even more vital in the War but from the shipping lines’ passenger fleets, ocean liners to ferries were taken up as troopships and hospital ships. Troopships took soldiers from Britain, Canada, South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere to the fighting on the Western Front, in the Dardenelles, Middle East and Africa, as well as bringing labour for non-combat units from the West Indies, South Africa, Mauritius, India, China and Fiji. Troopships too brought the American forces to Europe from June 1917.

Around 100 merchant vessels served as hospital ships. Some became ambulance transports, carrying the wounded and sick on to further treatment in Britain or elsewhere. Others were hospitals afloat, treating casualties brought directly from the battlefield. Indicative of the task of these ships, their crews and medical staff is that Britain itself had 7,000 military hospital beds in 1914; 200,000 in 1916 and 364,000 by the time of the Armistice in 1918. Moreover, hospital ships were no less at risk from mine or torpedo, 16 hospital ships being lost to enemy action.

The Dardenelles and Gallipoli campaign

Displayed in the exhibition together with film; photos; paintings; large-scale ship models; uniform; medals; surgical instruments; ships’ fittings and more, are extracts of the diary of Kathleen 'Kitty' Mann.