Newhaven, Sussex: Passenger Ferries Transformed into Hospital Ships

Available for over a year

Upon the declaration of war the Royal Navy began to requisition ships from across the Empire. Whether small fishing vessel or mighty passenger steam liner, the boats were commandeered for the war effort and used as troop carriers or supply ships. However the passenger ferries at Newhaven had a very different role. The SS Brighton IV, a steamship, was one of eight passenger ferries ploughing the waters to and from France, having been transformed into a hospital ship. Neil Pringle tells the story of the heroic vessels that transported the wounded from the bloody battlefields back across the channel. Location: Newhaven Port, Newhaven, West Sussex BN9 0BN Image courtesy of Jenny Flood from Newhaven Museum