25th County of London Cyclist Battalion
The London Regiment


H.M.A.T.  Ulysses


His Majesty's Australian Transport [HMAT] Ship A38 Ulysses weighed 14,499 tons with an average cruise speed of 14 knots or 25.92 kmph. It was owned by the China Mutual SN Co, London, and leased by the Commonwealth until 15 August 1917.

At least one soldier of the 1/25th is known to have sailed on her to India in 1916 (soldier - Roland Austin).

A fleet of transport ships was leased by the Australian government for the specific purpose of transporting the various AIF formations to their respective overseas destinations. When not committed to military transport, these ships were employed to carry various commodity exports to Britain and France. The fleet was made up from British ships and captured German vessels,

Launched in 1913, the Ulysses was the largest ship to serve as a troop carrier and not unexpectedly the one that carried the most passengers. She also sailed between Australian and England during the Second World War, again ferrying Australian troops and airmen to the front

Ulysses was torpedoed by an unknown German submarine in 1942 and sunk off Florida after apparently disobeying an order that would have led her through safer waters.


 

The transports HMAT Ulysses and HMAT Ceramic conveying
units of the second Australian contingent to Egypt . 

Indian Ocean: Red Sea - January 1915
by Major Jacobs, 3rd Battalion (Aust)


Acknowledgments

  • Australian War Museum

Copyright © Simon Parker-Galbreath - Please acknowledge these web pages, and/or the original source.