SS ''Bury'' was a passenger and cargo vessel completed for Britain's

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

in 1911. ''Bury'' was employed as a

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

for the company between

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

and the

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland (, ) is a coastal village in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was in use before the word ''wikt:kaap#Dutch, kaap'' – "cape". The English translation using Hook is a false cognate of t ...

for most of her career. During the Second World War ''Bury'' was outfitted as a

convoy rescue ship During the Second World War, designated convoy rescue ships accompanied some Battle of the Atlantic (1940), Atlantic convoys to rescue survivors from ships that had been attacked. Rescue ships were typically small freighters with passenger accomm ...

History

''Bury'' was built by

Earle's Shipbuilding Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932. Earle Brothers The company was started in Hull in 1845 by two brothers, Charles and William Earle. The firm was made ...

of Hull and launched in 1910. She was one of an order for four ships, the others being , and . In 1914 she was in Hamburg at the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the crew were taken prisoner of war and detained until the end of hostilities. The stewardesses were released early in 1914 after representation of the Railway Company through the American Consul in Hamburg. 1923 she transferred to the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

and then in 1935 to Associated Humber Lines. On 23 July 1936 she was in collision with the German steamer ''Virgilia'' in the River Elbe. The ''Virgilia'' sank and the crew of the ''Bury'' rescued the German crew. In 1941 ''Bury'' was taken up by the Rescue Service for conversion as a convoy rescue ship. She was suited for conversion for rescue service as she had a low freeboard and plenty of accommodation. She was fitted with deck platforms for landing survivors, a well-stocked sickbay with two surgeon-doctors and a sick-berth attendant, and supplies of blankets and clothing. She was equipped with two motor lifeboats, and carried HF/DF equipment for locating ships in distress. Entering service in December 1941 ''Bury'' sailed with 48 convoys and rescued 237 survivors during the war. In May 1942, on her 4th voyage as a rescue ship, ''Bury'' left

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

as part of Convoy ON 92 which was attacked by

Wolfpack Hecht ''Hecht'' ( English: " Pike") was the name of two " wolfpacks" of German U-boats that operated during World War II. First wolfpack "Hecht' The first wolfpack code-named ''Hecht'', comprising three U-boats, operated east of Iceland from 27 January ...

on 11 May 1942. She collected 178 survivors from three different ships in the convoy, taking them to St John's in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

.ON 92 at warsailors.com
retrieved 15 October 2022 The ship was sent for scrapping in June 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bury 1910 ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the Humber Ships of the Great Central Railway Ships of the London and North Eastern Railway Ships of Associated Humber Lines