The ships of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O) are fondly remembered by many thousands of Australians as the vessels which brought them as migrants from Britain and Europe in the pre and post-World War II years. RMS Strathaird (the RMS stands for "Royal Mail Ship") was one of the much loved "Strath" liners of the P&O fleet which carried the majority of the P&O passengers on the England-Australia run in the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s. RMS Strathaird was the vessel which carried the editor of this website, Stephen Yarrow, on the journey of a lifetime as a 9-year old boy, from Tilbury Docks, London, to Station Pier, Melbourne, on her second last voyage. These pages are his tribute to this grand old lady of the sea.

About RMS Strathaird

After the Great war of 1914-18, Australia experienced what up until then had been its biggest surge in immigration from Europe. Australia was seen as the great land of opportunity and became one of the top places to migrate to, particularly from Britain. The increase in migration to Australia led Britain's leading shipping line to the Far East, the Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), to invest in a fleet of new ships of around 20,000 tonnes each to handle the business coming their way. Their introduction was a major feature of Lord Inchcape's Chairmanship between 1915 to 1932. Originally, there was no fixed number of new ships planned, except the two near-identical ones that would be produced first. Others to the same design would then be ordered as and when custom demanded they be added to the fleet. The two new vessels, designed specifically for the England - Australia run, were the Strathnaver and Strathaird. The decision to build them was made in 1927. It was a 90 year old tradition at P&O to name some of its vessels after places in Scotland with the prefix Strath, and the tradition was continued with these two new liners. Work commenced on Strathnaver early in 1930 at the Barrow-in-Furness yards of Vickers-Armstrongs, where all the 'Strath' sisters were built. Strathaird followed a few months later. By February 1932, both ships had been launched and were in service.

Between the Wars, the Australian trade replaced the Indian services as the most important for P&O. Australian passengers encouraged the provision of games decks. Oil fuel replaced coal and the 'Strath' liners of the 1930s reintroduced white livery previously only used on two ships, in place of the conservative black hull and funnels and stone-coloured superstructure that had been the Company's image for so long. Second Class gave way to Tourist, and after the great Depression, when salaries were cut by 10% and no dividend was declared for four years, P&O's nominal Centenary in 1937 was celebrated with enthusiasm.

An advertisement placed by Mackinon Mackenzie & Co. in Colombo in the mid 1930's promoting its newest ships the Strathaird, Strathnaver and the slightly older Viceroy of India gives an idea of how the ships and the service they offered were promoted. The Viceroy of India (right), though painted black and built a few years earlier (1929), had introduced a new level of luxury and speed to the service. It was the first P&O ship to have an indoor swimming pool. All three ships were turbo-electric, steam turbines powering giant electric motors. The 'Strath' liners were all white and surpassed even the Viceroy of India in design, popularity and service. They introduced white colours as a permanent feature of the P&O ships and at the time these two liners were nicknamed the 'White Sisters'. Speed and power was further suggested by having three funnels, although only the middle one was real. They also had indoor swimming pools and the same level of luxury and speed that had made the Viceroy of India such a success on the England to Bombay run.

RMS Strathaird was built by Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness in 1931 for Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation. Co (P&O Line). She was a 22,544 gross ton ship, length 638.7ft x beam 80.2ft, three funnels, two masts, twin screw and a speed of 21 knots. There was passenger accommodation for 500 - 1st and 670 - tourist class. Strathaird's sister ship, Strathnaver, was the first of P&O's Strath ships to be built. Construction on Strathaird commenced a few months after Strathnaver's keel was laid down. Strathnaver sailed on her maiden voyage from London on 2nd October 1931 on the Australian mail service to Sydney via Marseilles, Suez, Bombay and Colombo. Strathaird's maiden voyage started on 12th February 1932 when she left London for Bombay, Colombo and Australian ports.

In September 1939, Strathaird and Strathnaver were both requisitioned as troop carriers - the sisters were dispatched to familiar waters, heading down-under to commence transporting Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East. Strathaird sailed on two convoys before returning to Liverpool to undergo a refit. However, before completion, she was sent to Brest to evacuate 6000 civilians and troops, returning them to Plymouth, after which the refit was completed and she returned to her wartime duties. Having carried some 128,961 persons and covered 387,745 miles, Strathaird was handed back to P&O at the end of 1946.

During her 1947 refit, she received a total overhaul at the Vickers-Armstrong yard, which was complete in January 1948. During this refit she was painted white once again and her two dummy funnels were removed whilst her remaining funnel was lengthened, giving her a more streamlined look. Now she accommodated 573 First Class and 496 Tourist class passengers, whilst her tonnage was now listed as 22,568 GRT.ЭShe departed Tilbury on 5th January 1948, and returned to the London - India - Australia Mail service route. She continued to operate occasional cruises.

In 1954, Strathaird was converted and became a one-class liner accommodating 1252 passengers, with her first voyage departing Tilbury on 8th April 1954. Her calls to Bombay and Adelaide were then discontinued. With the two latter мStrathо ships and new builds Arcadia and Iberia all operating on the Australian Mail service, the Strathaird and Strathnaver were now the oldest ships of the fleet. Strathaird began to suffer a range of mechanical problems which meant delays and even having to return to port on one occasion. P&O decided to construct one large ship to replace the original Strath twins, this would be the Canberra.

Strathaird departed Tilbury for Australia for the last time on 28th March 1961, and then departed Sydney on 9th May for what would be the final voyage back to Britain, arriving in Adelaide on 15th May. She left Fremantle and Australia for the last time on 19th May. Somewhere near Port Said, Strathaird passed her replacement, the brand new SS Canberra, on her maiden voyage.

Upon her return to Tilbury, she was sold to Hong Kong breakers. She departed Tilbury on 17th June 1961, arriving at the Shun Fung Iron Works in Hong Kong on 24th July and was handed over for demolition. She was the first of the мStrathо sisters to be broken up.