Volume 22 www.legionnl.com 17 Newfoundland Labrador Command The Lady Nelson was one of the “Lady Boats” built in Birkenhead, England in 1928 and 1929 for Canadian National Steamships for service in the West Indies. The others were the Lady Hawkins, Lady Drake, Lady Somers and Lady Rodney. All were named after the wives of British Admirals with connection to the West Indies. The Lady Nelson was the first to make her maiden voyage on December 12, 1928, and was consequently the flagship of the fleet. The ships were exquisitely outfitted, with fine woods, a glassed-in garden deck, a lavish forward lounge with a bar that ran the entire width of the deck, and fine dining. The Nelson, Hawkins and Drake provided year round passenger and cargo from Halifax to Bermuda and Caribbean ports, while the Somers and Rodney sailed from Halifax to Boston Bermuda and then on to the Caribbean. With the coming of the Second World War the Lady Boats were pressed into service as merchant ships, their colour changed from the bright white to dull grey. A four inch gun was mounted on each aft-deck as protection against German U-boats. The Lady Somers was the first to go to war and she was sunk in the \bay of Biscay off the coast of France on July 16, 1941. On January 16, 1942, the Lady Hawkins left Halifax unescorted at night, and hugging the American coast as far as Hatteras, North Carolina, set her course for Bermuda. At 0200 on January 19th, two torpedoes slammed into her and she sunk in twenty minutes with the loss of 250 lives. Two months later, on March 22, the Lady Nelson was tied up at Castries, St. Lucia, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-161, resulting in the death of fifteen passengers and three crewmembers. Fortunately she sank in only shallow waters and was able to be refloated, towed to dry-dock in Mobile, Alabama, and repaired. At that time she was also refitted as a hospital ship. On May 8, 1942 the Lady Drake was on her way from Bermuda to Halifax when she was torpedoed killing twelve people. She sank slowly and 260 made it to lifeboats and were rescued. In April 1943 the Lady Nelson was launched as Canada’s first hospital ship, carrying 70 Canadian Medical Corp personnel and nurses and was fitted with 515 hospital beds. By February 1946 she had completed 30 voyages and carried home 25,000 wounded soldiers. The Lady Rodney was the only Lady Boat not sunk during the war, and by the end of the war had carried home 66,000 troops as well as 66,000 passengers. At the end of the war the Lady Boats Nelson and Rodney were assigned the task of bringing war brides and children from England to Canada through Pier 21 in Halifax. The “Diaper Specials”, as they were affectionately called, performed the service for a year before they were refitted and returned to their original West Indies routes. Many of the war brides who settled in Newfoundland came here via the Lady Nelson, landing at Pier-21 in Halifax and then taking another ship to St. John’s. In 1952 the Ladies, Nelson and Rodney, were sold to Egypt where they were refitted, renamed, and used to carry passengers in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The Lady Nelson
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