SS ''Princess Alice'' was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CPR) during the first half of the 20th century. This ship was called a "pocket liner" because she offered amenities like a great

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

, but on a smaller scale. The ship was part of the CPR "

Princess fleet The Princess fleet is an eponym for the coastal vessels of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the first half of the 20th century. The names of these small ocean liners began with the title "Princess." The ships of the British Columbia Coast ...

," which was composed of ships having names which began with the title "Princess". Along with the SS ''Princess Adelaide'' the SS ''Princess Mary'' and the SS ''Princess Sophia'', the SS ''Princess Alice'' was one of four similar ships built for CPR during 1910-1911.

History

The SS ''Princess Alice'' was built by

Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three pow ...

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for the

.Plimsoll ship data ''Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships,'' 1945-46
/ref> ''Princess Alice'' was launched on May 29, 1911; and she was completed in September 1911. Miramar Ship Index
SS ''Princess Alice'', ID #5500364. The 3,099-ton vessel had length of , breadth of , and depth of In 1913, ''Princess Alice'' made several special Alaskan cruises through the inside passage at reduced rate of $60 round trip. In 1949, the ship was sold to

Typaldos Lines Typaldos Lines, formally known as the Aegean Steam Navigation Company, was a privately held Greek shipping company based in the Port of Piraeus, Greece. In 1956 the company had registered its headquarters in London, UK. after operating earlier as ...

, and she was renamed SS ''Aegaeon.''Simplon Postcards
SS Princess Alice
/ref> On April 1, 1955 the ship, sailing from Venice, undertook a "Hellenic Cruise" organised by Swans Tours of 8, Great Russell Street, London. The cruise took the ships passengers southwards to the Ionian Sea, through the Corinth Canal and into the Aegean Sea, thence through the Sea of Marma, and on to Istanbul. In returning through the Sea of Marma the ship visited Thassoss, Skiathos, and Skros, before berthing at Piraeus, where passengers went on to Athens. The ship then returned through the Corinth Canal to Venice. On the outward leg many sites of antiquity were visited, including Ithaca, Delphi, Delos, Mykonos, Samos, Ephesus and Troy. Among the many passengers on the cruise were The Hon. Michael Berry (later Baron Hartwell) and Lady Berry;

Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead Frederick Winston Furneaux Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (7 December 1907 – 10 June 1975) was a British biographer and Member of the House of Lords. He is best known for writing a biography of Rudyard Kipling that was suppressed by the Kipli ...

, with his son The Viscount of Furneaux (later

Frederick Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead Frederick William Robin Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead (17 April 1936 – 16 February 1985) was a British writer, historian and hereditary peer. He wrote under the pseudonym Robin Furneaux. Biography Viscount Furneaux was his courtesy title prio ...

; the classical scholar Sir

Maurice Bowra Sir Cecil Maurice Bowra, (; 8 April 1898 – 4 July 1971) was an English classical scholar, literary critic and academic, known for his wit. He was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, from 1938 to 1970, and served as vice-chancellor of the Univer ...

; American born Professor Sir

Arthur Lehman Goodhart Arthur Lehman Goodhart (1 March 1891 – 10 November 1978) was an American-born academic jurist and lawyer; he was Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford, 1931–51, when he was also a Fellow of University College, Oxford. He ...

, and his wife Lady Goodhart; The Lord Moyne ( Bryan Walter Guinness of the brewing family) and Lady Elisabeth Moyne, with four of their children; the former war-time MI6 Swiss station chief Count Frederick Vanden-Heuvel and his wife Countess Vanden-Heuvel; and the noted archaeologist

Sir Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...

and Lady Wheeler. The cruise was completed on April 15, 1955 when the ship berthed at Venice. Sir Maurice Bowra and Sir Mortimer Wheeler, along with other academics, gave talks both aboard ship and at various sites visited. The ship was wrecked in tow at

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

in December 1966. Typaldos Lines went bankrupt after being found guilty due to manslaughter, negligence, and document falsification in 1968.

Notes

References

* Musk, George. (1981)
''Canadian Pacific: The Story of the Famous Shipping Line.''
Newton Abbot, Devon:

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

.
OCLC 7523720
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Alice, 1911 1911 ships Ocean liners Steamships of Canada Ships of CP Ships Ships built by Swan Hunter

History

See also

Notes

References