The Wreck of the Rohilla

Welcome to the tragic story of the hospital ship Rohilla and a website dedicated to the memory of those involved during its tragic loss.

The wreck of the hospital ship has always intrigued me, it was a wreck I used when introducing my dive students to their first open water dive. Although Whitby has a wealth of shipwrecks from two World Wars and numerous shipping disasters, being close to the harbour and in shallow water the wreck of the Rohilla was a logical choice for trainees. When I began work on my book I felt there may be more information available about the tragedy. I was aware that in order to try and obtain more information I would have to attempt contact with descendants of some of those who perished on the ship, in doing so I wondered if my contact would be welcome.

I felt guarded about stirring up feelings which many individuals may not wish to share. In all cases however, my contact was positively received and I now have many new acquaintances, I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to share their stories and feel they have made a significant contribution to the book. Throughout the book there are many heart rending pieces of information that only serve to highlight the despair those trapped aboard the Rohilla had to endure.

It is not possible to do the story justice in a summary and I can only encourage you to buy my book. I am of course biased, but I hope you find it serves as a definitive account of the tragic events surrounding its loss. I have included as much information as I could, so that the book will serve as an excellent reference book for anyone interested in the former British India Navigation Company liner. The book brings together many fine illustrations and photographs of the vessel and related artifacts, some of which had many never published before.

I have many pages planned for this website and am fortunate enough to have a wealth of information to share, although the site currently consists of over 130 pages I have so many more to come. In the book I asked for people to contact me if they have anything they wish to share and I have been very lucky to have engaged in correspondence with some very interesting people. I have also acquired new research some of which I find very fascinating, these new developments will allow me to increase the scope of this website as time permits.

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The latest page to grace this website relates to information which was first publicised in the Whitby Gazette and later in the Lifeboat Journal. The feature titled Launching Ceremony At Whitby, first details the heroic attempts made during the Rohilla tragedy and an exhibition of relics. It then presents the dedication of the 'new' lifeboat station house in 1919 and the christening of the Margaret Harker Smith, it is hosted on my lifeboat website but is mentioned here as it details the Rohilla's loss, it made for a very interesting piece use this link to read it for yourself.

if you have any questions, queries or suggestions relating to the Rohilla please do not hesitate to contact me using the link below, I am always happy to receive feedback.