Farewell Dinner to the Officers and Sisters at Sea, 9th March, 1918
At Sea, [HMAT A18 'Wiltshire'], 1918.
A menu card (a bifolium, 152 × 114 mm), comprising a pictorial front cover featuring an illustration of the ship ('Owners Federal Steam Navigation Company, Limited ... London'); the title as above; the bill of fare; last page blank (but see below).
Minimal signs of age and use; in very good condition.
The Australian War Memorial has in its collection an illustration - for all intents and purposes the same one reproduced on the menu - of the ship, with the following comment: 'HMAT "Wiltshire" (A18) was one of the steamships requisitioned by the Australian Government for use as a troop transport. She was one of the ships of the first convoy which assembled in King George's Sound, Albany, WA, in October 1914 to carry Australian and New Zealand forces to Europe. "Wiltshire" continued such duties until released by the Australian Government' on 27 December 1917, when she was taken over by the British Admiralty. She made subsequent voyages, including this one, which embarked Sydney on 2 February 1918 and disembarked Suez on 11 March 1918. The menu carries approximately 60 signatures, many of them clearly of 'Officers and Sisters' (including NZ nurses). The front cover is signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Dunmore Fuller (1882-1953), at the time CO of the 6th LHR; the ship's master, Lieutenant-Commander Ralph Hawtrey Deane RN (1884-1966); and Rosa Quarterman, Matron with the 4th Sea Transport Section. These three signatures alone give the menu considerable value and interest; doubtless there are other individuals of note to be discovered by the diligent researcher.
Item #116767
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