SS River Clyde
Encyclopedia
The SS River Clyde was a 4,000 ton collier built in Glasgow
in 1905 and named after the River Clyde
in Scotland
. On April 25, 1915, the River Clyde was used as a Trojan horse
for the landing at Cape Helles
during the Battle of Gallipoli
. The ship, carrying 2,000 soldier
s, mainly from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers
, 29th Division
, and also, but often not mentioned, men from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was beached beneath the Sedd el Bahr
castle at V Beach, Cape Helles, on the tip of the Gallipoli
peninsula. However, the plan failed and the River Clyde, lying under the guns of the Turkish
defenders, became a death trap.
For the landing, the River Clyde was commanded by Commander Edward Unwin
, a former merchant seaman and Royal Navy
officer who had returned from retirement at the start of the war to command the torpedo gunboat
HMS Hussar
in the Mediterranean. The River Clyde had a battery of eleven machine gun
s from the Royal Naval Air Service
under the command of Josiah Wedgwood mounted on the bow behind boiler plate and sandbags. Holes had been cut in the steel hull to provide sally ports from which the troops would emerge onto gangways and then to a bridge of smaller boats linking the ship to the beach. The hull was to be painted a sandy yellow
as camouflage
but the work was incomplete by the time of the landing.
Three attempts were made to get ashore by companies of the Munsters, the Royal Dublins and The Hampshire Regiment but all ended in costly failure. Further attempts to land were abandoned and the surviving soldiers waited until nightfall before trying again. The efforts of sailors to maintain the bridge from the ship to the beach, and to recover the wounded, were rewarded by six Victoria Cross
es. The recipients were Commander Unwin (aged 51), Midshipmen George Drewry
(20) and Wilfred Malleson
(18), Able Seaman William Williams
(34), Seaman George Samson (26) and Sub-Lieutenant Arthur Tisdall (24) from the Royal Naval Division (RND). Of these men, only Williams died during the landing. Samson was severely wounded the following day. On his return to Scotland
he was handed a white feather
while wearing civilian clothes. Tisdall was killed on May 6 when the 6th (Hood) Battalion of the RND, made its advance along Kanli Dere during the Second Battle of Krithia
. Drewry, Samson and Williams had come from the Hussar along with Unwin. Malleson, who died in 1975, served on the battleship
HMS Cornwallis
.
After the Helles beachhead was established, V Beach became the base for the French
contingent and the River Clyde remained beached as a dock and breakwater. Her condensers were used to provide fresh water
and a field dressing station was established in the hull. She remained a constant target for Turkish gunners on the Asia
n shore.
In 1919, after the war had ended, the River Clyde was refloated and taken to Malta
for repairs. As a tramp steamer
, she was operated by Spanish
shipping companies for another 50 years in the Mediterranean under various names, the last being Maruja y Aurora. In 1965 there was an attempt to purchase the River Clyde for preservation but in 1966 she was sold for scrap instead and broken up at Avilés
, Spain.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1905 and named after the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. On April 25, 1915, the River Clyde was used as a Trojan horse
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
for the landing at Cape Helles
Landing at Cape Helles
The landing at Cape Helles was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on April 25, 1915 during the First World War. Helles, at the foot of the peninsula, was the main landing area. With the support of the guns of the Royal Navy, a British division...
during the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
. The ship, carrying 2,000 soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, mainly from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers
Royal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army. One of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, it had its home depot in Tralee. It was originally formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of two regiments of the former East India Company. It served in India and...
, 29th Division
British 29th Division
The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division...
, and also, but often not mentioned, men from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was beached beneath the Sedd el Bahr
Sedd el Bahr
Sedd el Bahr is a village at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The village lies east of the cape, on the shore of the Dardanelles...
castle at V Beach, Cape Helles, on the tip of the Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
peninsula. However, the plan failed and the River Clyde, lying under the guns of the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
defenders, became a death trap.
For the landing, the River Clyde was commanded by Commander Edward Unwin
Edward Unwin
Commodore Edward Unwin VC, CB, CMG was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, a former merchant seaman and Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who had returned from retirement at the start of the war to command the torpedo gunboat
Torpedo gunboat
In late 19th-century naval terminology, torpedo gunboats or, in north European usage, torpedo cruisers, were a form of gunboat armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats...
HMS Hussar
HMS Hussar (1894)
HMS Hussar was a Dryad-class torpedo gunboat of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1894 and served in the Mediterranean between 1896 and 1905 before being used for fishery protection. During the Dardanelles campaign of 1915 her commanding officer and two of her ship's company won the Victoria...
in the Mediterranean. The River Clyde had a battery of eleven machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s from the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
under the command of Josiah Wedgwood mounted on the bow behind boiler plate and sandbags. Holes had been cut in the steel hull to provide sally ports from which the troops would emerge onto gangways and then to a bridge of smaller boats linking the ship to the beach. The hull was to be painted a sandy yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
as camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
but the work was incomplete by the time of the landing.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
es. The recipients were Commander Unwin (aged 51), Midshipmen George Drewry
George Leslie Drewry
George Leslie Drewry VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(20) and Wilfred Malleson
Wilfred St. Aubyn Malleson
Commander Wilfred St. Aubyn Malleson VC was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(18), Able Seaman William Williams
William Charles Williams
William Charles Williams VC was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(34), Seaman George Samson (26) and Sub-Lieutenant Arthur Tisdall (24) from the Royal Naval Division (RND). Of these men, only Williams died during the landing. Samson was severely wounded the following day. On his return to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
he was handed a white feather
White feather
A white feather has been a traditional symbol of cowardice, used and recognised especially within the British Army and in countries associated with the British Empire since the 18th century...
while wearing civilian clothes. Tisdall was killed on May 6 when the 6th (Hood) Battalion of the RND, made its advance along Kanli Dere during the Second Battle of Krithia
Second Battle of Krithia
The Second Battle of Krithia continued the Allies' attempts to advance on the Helles battlefield during the Battle of Gallipoli of the First World War. The village of Krithia and neighbouring hill of Achi Baba had to be captured in order for the British to advance up the Gallipoli peninsula to the...
. Drewry, Samson and Williams had come from the Hussar along with Unwin. Malleson, who died in 1975, served on the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS Cornwallis
HMS Cornwallis (1901)
HMS Cornwallis was a Duncan-class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical Description:HMS Cornwallis was laid down by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London on 19 July 1899 and launched on 13 July 1901...
.
After the Helles beachhead was established, V Beach became the base for the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
contingent and the River Clyde remained beached as a dock and breakwater. Her condensers were used to provide fresh water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and a field dressing station was established in the hull. She remained a constant target for Turkish gunners on the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n shore.
In 1919, after the war had ended, the River Clyde was refloated and taken to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
for repairs. As a tramp steamer
Tramp steamer
A ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule or published ports of call. As opposed to freight liners, tramp ships trade on the spot market with no fixed schedule or itinerary/ports-of-call...
, she was operated by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
shipping companies for another 50 years in the Mediterranean under various names, the last being Maruja y Aurora. In 1965 there was an attempt to purchase the River Clyde for preservation but in 1966 she was sold for scrap instead and broken up at Avilés
Avilés
Avilés is a city in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main towns in the Principality of Asturias.The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, in a land that belonged to the sea, surrounded by small promontories, all of them having an altitude of less than...
, Spain.