Hospital ships of the Royal Navy in World War One: From pre-war planning to the aftermath of Jutland

Abstract

In World War One, naval hospital ships played an essential role, which has been generally underappreciated, in the medical care of seamen. The Admiralty had made plans to convert merchant vessels into hospital ships and carriers to provide immediate support to the Grand Fleet, especially at its Scottish bases: Scapa Flow, Cromarty Firth and Rosyth. The prolongation of the war required continuity of medical care to be developed, crucially so given the aftermath of the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Naval hospital ships were vital to the repatriation of sick and wounded seamen from the Mediterranean. Moreover, in late 1914 and at Gallipoli in 1915, naval hospital ships contributed significantly to the military medical effort. This article describes the principal naval hospital ships and the specific, unique and varied activities they undertook throughout the war, as well as the medical, naval, military and mercantile factors that influenced their organisation and deployment.