Reveille 6. Breakfast 7:15. Another storm, more rain. Still in harbour. Sports in afternoon. Nothing doing.
Frank was getting used to being onboard a ship. Here is his drawing of the layout of the HMS Kashmir:
According to Frank, 1200 troops came on board the HMS Kashmir in Marseilles.
SS Kashmir
When originally built for P&O as a cargo liner in 1915, the Kashmir was designed to carry a combination of freight and 78 first class and 68 second class passengers.¹
Its crew in summer 1915 was recorded as 52. In addition to its Master, one First Mate and two Second Mates, its complement also included:
- a surgeon,
- three joiners and carpenters,
- nine able seamen,
- 12 engineers,
- three boilermakers,
- an electrician,
- a refrigeration engineer,
- an hydraulic winch man,
- a cook, a butcher and a baker,
- five stewards, two stewardesses,
- a barman and a linen storekeeper,
- two general servants and
- a Marconi operator.²
War-time service
The HMS Kashmir would still rely on the merchant marine to provide the crew for Frank’s voyage. This would include the officers, seamen, engineers, wireless operator and other technicians. Mess duties would be performed by orderlies drawn from amongst the troops. The medical staff attached to the soldiers would have looked after any health issues. It is unlikely that there was a barman – not that that would have worried Frank.
References & further reading
¹ HMS Kashmir Wikipedia
² 1915 Crew Lists – a joint project between the National Archive and the National Maritime Museum to celebrate the huge contribution of the Merchant Navy to WWI