RMS Dunottar Castle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids History
United Kingdom
Name	Dunottar Castle
Owner	Union-Castle Line
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
Yard number	348
Laid down	1889
Launched	22 May 1890
In service	1890
Fate	Sunk 35 mi (56 km) off Cape Wrath 27 September 1915
General characteristics
Tonnage	5,625 GRT
Length	433 ft (132 m)
Beam	49 ft 8 in (15.14 m)
Draught	25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion	Single screw
Speed	17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) service speed

Dunottar Castle, from an 1893 book

The RMS Dunottar Castle was a special ship known as a Royal Mail Ship. It started sailing in 1890 for the Castle Line, which later became the Union-Castle Line. This ship carried passengers and mail between Britain and South Africa.

In 1913, the Dunottar Castle was sold to another company, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and was renamed the Caribbean. When World War I started in 1914, the ship was used by the British Navy as HMS Caribbean. It first carried soldiers and then became an armed merchant cruiser. Sadly, the ship sank during a storm off the coast of Scotland on September 27, 1915.

Building and Early Journeys

The Dunottar Castle was built in 1889 at the Govan Shipyards by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. It joined the Castle Line and then the Union Castle Line in 1900.

This ship became very famous in the 1890s for making the trip from Southampton, England, to Cape Town, South Africa, much faster. It cut the journey time from 42 days down to just 17 days and 20 hours!

In 1894, the ship got stuck for a short time near the Eddystone Lighthouse. It was updated in 1897. Its funnels were made taller, some parts of its rigging were removed, and it got a new wheelhouse.

Serving as a Troop Ship

In November 1899, the Dunottar Castle was needed to carry soldiers during the Second Boer War. It took General Redvers Buller and 1,500 soldiers to Cape Town. On its next trip, it carried important leaders like Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener.

During the war, the ship made many trips between Britain and the Cape Colony. It carried famous people involved in the Boer War. These included two well-known scouts, Major Frederick Russell Burnham and Colonel Robert Baden-Powell. A young war correspondent named Winston Churchill also traveled on the ship.

In 1904, the Dunottar Castle was put out of service for a while in Southampton. But by 1907, it was rented out to the Panama Railroad Company. It sailed on their route from New York to Colon (near the Panama Canal).

In 1908, it was rented again for cruises to Norway and the Mediterranean Sea. In 1911, it carried guests to the Delhi Durbar for King George V.

In 1912, Union-Castle joined the Royal Mail Group. The Dunottar Castle was then sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company in 1913 and renamed the Caribbean.

When World War I started in 1914, the ship was taken by the Royal Navy and became HMS Caribbean. At first, it brought soldiers from Canada to Europe. Later, it was used as an Armed Merchant Cruiser. However, it was found not suitable for carrying large guns. So, in May 1915, it was changed into a ship for dockyard workers to live on.

The Ship's Final Journey

The Caribbean set sail for Scapa Flow on September 24, 1915. But it ran into trouble at noon on September 26. It began to sink about 35 miles (56 km) south of Cape Wrath, Scotland.

Many ships tried to help when they received its SOS message. However, most had to turn back because of the very bad weather. Some fishing boats from Stornoway and the light cruiser HMS Birkenhead managed to reach the area.

The Birkenhead tried to pull the Caribbean to safety, but it failed. Luckily, most of the crew were rescued during the night. The Caribbean sank early on September 27, and 15 crew members who were still on board died.

A later investigation blamed the ship's carpenter for not knowing the ship well enough and for not closing all the small windows (scuttles). Like most of the crew, he had only joined the ship 10 days before. The wreck of the Caribbean was found in 2004. It was mostly untouched, except for some fishing nets.

Images for kids

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  The RMS Dunottar Castle

Returning from the Boer War on the RMS Dunottar Castle, July 1900. Standing L-R: Sir Byron Leighton, Claud Grenfel, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, Captain Gordon Forbes, Abe Bailey (his son John would marry Diana Churchill in 1932), next two unidentified, John Weston Brooke. Seated L-R: Major Bobby White, Lord Downe, General Sir Henry Edward Colvile (a year later Churchill as MP would demand an inquiry over his dismissal from South Africa), Major Harry White, Major Joe Laycock, Winston Churchill, Sir Charles Bentinck. Sitting L-R: unidentified, Col. Maurice Gifford (who had lost his arm in the Second Matabele War).