SS Tunisian

History and family connection

• [RECORD] The official 165th Infantry history says its 1st Battalion “left by train for Montreal where it boarded the transport ship Tunisia.” The source’s word is preserved, but the identified ship and image catalogue use Tunisian. New York State Military Museum (external address omitted for offline reading)

• [COMPILED] The ship history says: “Launched in 1900, the Allan Line's Tunisian was built by Alex Stephen & Son of Glasgow”; “She took her maiden voyage on 5 April 1900, from Liverpool to Halifax and Portland, Maine”; “A month later, she made her first trip to Québec and Montréal.” Great Ships (external address omitted for offline reading)

• [COMPILED] The same source says: “During World War I, Tunisian served first as a prisoner of war accommodation ship at Ryde, Isle of Wight, and then as a troop carrier”; “In 1917 she passed into Canadian Pacific ownership”; “Renamed Marburn in 1922”; and records her final transatlantic sailing in April 1928 before sale to breakers. Great Ships (external address omitted for offline reading)

• [RECORD] Library and Archives Canada’s catalogue describes the photograph: “TUNISIAN_1900 (10,576 GT.)”; “Maiden Voyage April 5th, 1900, Liverpool-Halifax/Portland”; “1917 taken over by C.P.O.S.”; “Renamed MARBURN 1922”; “Scrapped in 1928.” It gives: “Credit: Ronald Inness / Library and Archives Canada / PA-209622”; “Restrictions on use: Nil”; “Copyright: Expired.” LAC record 3263661 (external address omitted for offline reading)

• [RECORD] The local image is the LAC derivative fetched from the archive’s legacy image server (external address omitted for offline reading). Its photographed caption reads: “TUNISIAN-1900 (10,576 GT.) (STEPHEN) Maiden Voyage April 5th, 1900, Liverpool-Halifax/Portland: 1917 taken over by C.P.O.S.: Renamed MARBURN 1922 Scrapped in 1928.” The catalogue’s “Copyright: Expired” and “Restrictions on use: Nil” statements are quoted above.

Sources

Sources and credits are recorded in the factsheet above.