NEW ZEALAND DISASTERS AND TRAGEDIES
THE SINKING OF HMAT WARILDA
ENGLISH CHANNEL
03 AUGUST 1918

On Saturday 3 August 1918, HMAT Warilda (His Majesty's Australian Transport) was transporting wounded soldiers from Le Havre, France to Southampton when she was torpedoed by the German submarine UC-49. This was despite being marked clearly with the Red Cross; as with a number of other hospital ships torpedoed during the war, Germany claimed the ships were also carrying arms. The ship sank in about two hours, and of the 801 persons on board, 123 died due to the sinking. Her wreck lies in the English Channel.

Four New Zealander's lost their lives in the Warilda. They were: -