Hospital ships

Page 7 – Hospital ships' movements 1915-19

Note: The four commemorative booklets compiled by Lord Liverpool listed the ships’ movements while under government charter. This list is based on his, but has been amended in places based on telegrams and masters’ reports in USSCo. and army archives. Many minor differences may have been produced by confusing northern and southern hemisphere dates – even today the incomplete telegrams are sometimes hard to follow and full of errors, and newspaper accounts could state the Marama leaving London in June 1919 on the 8th, 9th or even the 10th. All altered or additional port calls are marked by an asterisk.

HMNZHS No. 1 (Maheno)

First commission July 1915 to January 1916

1915

7–11 JulWellington
16–21 JulAdelaide
2–5 AugColombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]
16–18 AugSuez
20 AugAlexandria
15–16 AugMudros [Moudros]
26–9 AugAnzac
30 Aug– 2 SepAnzac
2–3 SepMudros
7 SepAnzac
9–10 SepMudros
11–15 SepValetta, Malta
17–18 SepAnzac
23–7 SepValetta, Malta
28–9 SepMudros
30 SepAnzac and Mudros
5–8 OctAlexandria
17–30 OctSouthampton
6–7 NovValetta
9–10 NovMudros
11 NovKephalo (Imbros), then Anzac
13 NovMudros
15–17 NovAlexandria
21–2 NovValetta
24 NovPort Said
26 NovSuez
9–10 DecColombo
22–3 DecAlbany, Australia

1916

1 JanAuckland
3–7 JanWellington

Second commission January to December 1916

20–6 JanWellington
2–5 Feb*Albany
15–16 Feb*Colombo
27 Feb–6 Mar*Suez
11 Mar*Aden
18–20 Mar*Colombo
31–?*Albany
15 Apr–6 MayPort Chalmers (incl. repairs)
11-12 MayAlbany
27–9 May*Colombo
9–20 JunSuez
21–2 JunPort Said
23–4 JunAlexandria
4 Jul–16 Oct*20 round trips between Southampton and Le Havre or Boulogne plus refit to add 115 extra cots plus ‘shake-downs’
16–19 Oct*Dublin
20–7 Oct*Southampton
1 Nov*Gibraltar
7 Nov*Port Said
8 Nov*Suez
18–20 Nov*Colombo
1–10 Dec*Albany (delayed awaiting collier)
17 DecAuckland
18 DecWellington
19 DecPort Chalmers

Third commission January–September 1917

16–18 Jan

Lyttelton

27–9 JanAlbany
10–13 FebBombay [Mumbai]
24 Feb*Port Said
27–8 FebMalta
3 Mar*Gibraltar
8 Mar*Avonmouth
10–18 Mar*Liverpool
27 Mar*Malta
27 Mar*Port Said
29 Mar*Suez
11–13 AprColombo
25–6 Apr*Albany
6 MayAuckland
8 May*Wellington
9 May*Lyttelton
10–30 May*Port Chalmers
7–9 JunAlbany
24–6 JunDurban
29–30 JunCape Town
10–14 JulFreetown
22 Jul – 8 AugSouthampton
21–2 AugColon
23–4 AugPanama Canal
24 AugBalboa (plus or minus 1 day)
5–8 SeptTahiti
16 SeptAuckland
18 SeptWellington
19 SepLyttelton
20 SepPort Chalmers

Fourth Commission October 1917 to June 1918

1917

13–20 Oct

Port Chalmers

29 Oct*Albany
11 Nov*Durban
16–18 Nov*Cape Town
2–30 Nov*Freetown
9–24 Dec*Avonmouth
24 Dec 1917non-shore leave voyage Avonmouth to Auckland via Durban and Albany

1918

31 Jan*

Auckland

2 Feb*Wellington
3 Feb*Lyttelton
4 Feb–1 Mar*Port Chalmers
9 Mar*Albany
23–5 Mar*Durban
28–30 Mar*Cape Town
9–11 AprFreetown
20 Apr–3 MayAvonmouth
3 May–30 Junnon-shore leave voyage Avonmouth to Auckland via Durban and Albany
30 JunAlbany

Fifth commission July 1918 to April 1919

1918

1–7 Jul

Port Chalmers

15–17 Jul*Albany
29 Jul*Colombo
13 AugPort Said
14–19 AugAlexandria
24 Aug–2 Sep*Marseilles
7 SepPort Said
19–23 SepColombo
7 OctAlbany
20 Oct–15 DecAuckland and Port Chalmers (repairs)
27 Dec–4 JanAlbany (quarantine)

1919

15–19 JanColombo
2 FebPort Said
3 FebAlexandria
16 FebSouthampton
17 Feb–8 MarCardiff
8–11 MarAvonmouth
11–12 AprAuckland
26 AprPort Chalmers

HMNZHS No. 2 (Marama)

First commission December 1915 to October 1916

1915

1–5 DecWellington
12 Dec*Adelaide
14–16 Dec*Albany
25–7 DecColombo

1916

4–5 JanAden
8–18 JanSuez
18–22 JanAlexandria
31 Jan–15 FebSouthampton
18–19 FebGibraltar
24 FebValetta
27 Feb–9 MarAlexandria
17 MarMarseilles
18–20 MarCette [Sète]
26 Mar*Salonika
27 MarStavros
28 Mar–7 AprSalonika
10–12 AprValetta
20 Apr–5 MaySouthampton
10–12 MayValetta
16 May–9 JunAlexandria
19 Jun–2 JulSouthampton
4 JulBoulogne
5 JulSouthampton
6 JulLe Havre
7 JulSouthampton
8 JulBoulogne
9–12 JulSouthampton
13 JulLe Havre
14–18 JulSouthampton
19–29 JulSouthampton–Le Havre voyages
22–3 JulDublin
25–8 JulSouthampton
29 JulLe Havre
30 Jul–4 AugSouthampton
6–25 Aug5 round trips Southampton–Le Havre
25–31 AugSouthampton
22–25 SepDurban
10 OctFremantle
17–18 OctMelbourne
22 Oct–6 NovPort Chalmers

Second commission November 1916 to August 1917

1916

7–12 NovWellington
2 NovAlbany
4–8 NovBombay [Mumbai]
17 DecSuez
20–1 DecAlexandria
24–5 DecValetta
28 DecGibraltar
31 Dec 1916–13 Jan 1917Southampton

1917

21 JanDakar (to land shipwreck survivors)
5–8 FebDurban
23–4 FebAlbany
5 MarAuckland
7 MarWellington
8 MarLyttelton
9 MarTimaru
10–22 MarPort Chalmers
31 MarAlbany
11–14 AprColombo
18–19 AprBombay
27 AprAden
3–7 MaySuez
22–5 MayDurban
29–31 MayCape Town
10–11 JunFreetown
21 Jun – 17 JulAvonmouth
29 JulColon
29–31 JulPanama Canal
31 JulBalboa
22 AugAuckland
25 AugPort Chalmers

Third commission September 1917–May 1918

1917

22 SepPort Chalmers
3 OctDurban
20–4 OctCape Town
10–20 NovAvonmouth
5 DecColon
21 DecPitcairn
28 DecAuckland
30 Dec–31 Jan 1918Port Chalmers

1918

9 FebAlbany
25–8 Feb*Cape Town
19 Mar–7 Apr*Avonmouth
21–22 AprPanama Canal
4 MayPitcairn Island
14 MayAuckland
16 May–1 JunPort Chalmers

Fourth commission June 1918 to February 1919

11 Jun*Albany
29 Jun–5 JulCape Town
9 Jul*Durban
25–7 Jul*Suez Canal 
1–8 AugMarseilles
14 Aug*Port Said
27 AugColombo
10 SepAlbany
20 SepAuckland
25 Sep–19 OctPort Chalmers
29 OctAlbany
9–10 Nov*Colombo
21 Nov*Suez
22–3 Nov*Port Said
24–6 Nov*Alexandria
2–3 Dec*Gibraltar (disembarking Spanish commissioners)
6–7 Dec*Southampton
7 DecLe Havre
9–19 DecSouthampton

1919

4–5 JanColon/Balboa
27 JanAuckland
29 Jan*Wellington
30 Jan*Lyttelton
31 JanPort Chalmers

Imperial charter February–July 1919

28 Feb*Port Chalmers
9–10 Mar*Albany
18 Mar–8 Apr*Singapore
9 Apr*Port Swettenham
10 Apr*Penang
15 Apr*Colombo
26 Apr*Suez
27–8 Apr*Port Said
8 May*Plymouth
9 May–7 JunLondon
8–9 Jun*Southampton
24-5*Panama Canal
17 JulAuckland
19 JulWellington
20 JulLyttelton
21 JulPort Chalmers
How to cite this page

'Hospital ships' movements 1915-19', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/first-world-war-hospital-ships/movements-1915-19, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 4-Mar-2024