SS ''Donegal'' was a

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

passenger ferry that served in the First World War as an ambulance ship. She was completed in 1904 and sunk by enemy action in April 1917.

Building and peacetime service

In 1897–1903 the

of England had Heysham Port on the coast of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

built as a terminal for ferries to and from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1903 the Midland established its interest in Ireland by buying the

Belfast and Northern Counties Railway The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge () but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened t ...

. In 1904 the Midland took delivery of a pair of new passenger ferries from

Clydeside Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...

shipyards in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

to work between Heysham Port and Belfast Harbour. They came from different builders but they were

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s: built by

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the ''Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its height, from 1900 to the 1950s, it was one of ...

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling and Milton beyond) to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel areas ...

, and ''Donegal'' built by Caird & Company of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

. ''Donegal'' had a

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...

rated at 386 NHP, giving her a speed of . She and ''Antrim'' worked between Heysham and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

from 1904 until they were requisitioned for UK Government service in the First World War.

War service and loss

''Donegal'' was one of numerous ferries, many of them requisitioned from railway companies, that were converted into ambulance ships to carry wounded personnel from France back to Great Britain. Ambulance ships were classified as

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

s under Hague Convention X of 1907 and as such were to be clearly marked and lit to make them easy to identify. Nevertheless, in the First World War the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

attacked and sank a number of British hospital ships. The UK Government then announced it would cease marking hospital ships, alleging that German vessels had used their markings and lighting to target them, so ''Donegal'' was unmarked. On 1 March 1917 a German submarine tried to attack ''Donegal'' but the steamer managed to outrun her. Then on 17 April 1917 both ''Donegal'' and a larger ship, , were sunk by U-boats when carrying British wounded across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

. ''Donegal'' had sailed from

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

bound for

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

carrying 610 lightly wounded soldiers and 70 crew. She had a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

escort. She was about south of the Dean

light vessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

when the

German Type UC II submarine Type UC II minelaying submarines were used by the Imperial German Navy during World War I. They displaced 417 tons, carried guns, 7 torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-prope ...

torpedoed her. She sank with the loss of 29 wounded British soldiers and 12 of her crew. A

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

Lieutenant, H Holehouse, jumped from his ship into the sea to recover one of ''Donegal''s wounded soldiers from the water. The man did not recover, but the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

awarded Lieut. Holehouse its bronze medal.

''Titanic'' connections

Two of ''Donegal''s crew,

Archie Jewell Archibald Jewell (4 December 1888 – 17 April 1917) was a sailor who was on the crew of the Titanic. He survived the sinking of the ''Titanic'' and ''Britannic'', but died during the sinking of the SS ''Donegal'' when it was torpedoed without ...

and Arthur John Priest, had served on and survived her sinking in April 1912. Jewell had been one of ''Titanic''s lookouts (although not on watch when she struck the iceberg) and Priest had been one of her stokers. Priest had also been on the liner when she foundered on her maiden voyage in 1907, and on when she was damaged in a collision with in 1911. Priest then served on the

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

when she and the German armed merchant cruiser sank each other in February 1916. Both Jewell and Priest then served on ''Titanic''s

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between ...

sister ship , and survived when she was sunk in November 1916. When ''Donegal'' sank, Priest survived yet again but Jewell was killed. In 1917 Priest was awarded the Mercantile Marine Ribbon for his service in the war.

Wreck

''Donegal''s wreck lies intact on her

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

side in about of water.

References

Sources