More information : Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:
Charted as notable debris, position unreliable. (15)(16) Charted position seen to be located 0.5 mile south of Whitby, west of Saltwick Nab, in the Rail Hole Bight (17) consistent with the description of position of loss as "on the rocks half a mile south of Whitby" (1)(15)(16) and the 1981 description as in a "muddy gulley" (1)(15)(16), as well as descriptions of the Upgang lifeboat being lowered over a cliff face (7) and the footage of the ship on the rocks (14). However, this position is closer inshore than some other descriptions at the time of loss (4) and of subsequent salvage (9), suggesting both confusion and the possibility that wreckage may be scattered over a wide area. This in turn may account for any confusion with the CHARLES as mentioned in (7), which is also quoted in (15) and (16). [In its turn this may suggest that any wreckage remaining from the CHARLES could be scattered, since the CHARLES is charted to the east, off Saltwick Nab itself, but no further details of the CHARLES have been reported since the wrecking incident in 1940, other than in (7).] (18)
ROHILLA - Ran aground on Saltwick Nab in strong ESE gale, 1914. Broke in two. (B McClure) (1)(15)(16)
On rocks half mile south of Whitby. (Lloyd's) (1)(15)(16)
06-MAR-1981: Lies on even keel in muddy gulley. Has been extensively salvaged. Wreckage scattered over large area, lying roughly N/S, and partly buried by boulders. High points are the boilers, which are now starting to break up. Salvage rights owned by Mr A Dewhirst of Batley. (Bill McClure, 1085 BSAC) (1)(15)(16)
20-JAN-1989: Not located using side scan sonar. (Land and Marine) (1)(15)(16)
06-AUG-2001: Shipwreck Index of the British Isles (7, below) quotes vessel as in 6-15m with bow confused with the remains of the SS CHARLES. (15)(16)
28-FEB-2006: EUT [WGS 84] position 54 29.360N, 000 35.802W. (15)(16)
A trailing log recovered from this wreck off Whitby. (Droit A/1416) (2)
A tile recovered from this wreck off Whitby. (Droit A/1665) (2)
A porthole recovered from this wreck, position 54 29.977N 000 35.360W. (Droit A/3016) (2)
A silver-plated handle from cutlery item, probably a knife, stamped, "ISBN Co. Ltd." recovered from this wreck outside Whitby Bay. (Droit A/3539) (2)
A flange and a cigarette case lid recovered from this wreck, Black Nab. (Droit A/3648) (2)
A flange recovered from this wreck. (Droit A/3954) (2)
Copper alloy flange recovered from this wreck now in Teesmouth Sub-Aqua Club. (3)
'The wreck lies in line from the Bell buoy to Saltwick Nab with the bows pointing to the shore. The inshore end is in 6m of water while the seaward end is in 15m. There are four complete boilers, two pairs more or less in situ with a further split open and a donkey boiler suspended close by, with the shaft clearly seen. There is very little tidal movement in the area but the forward end is mixed up with the wreck of SS CHARLES.
'Her wheel is in the lifeboat museum and her two spare prop[ellor] blades were salvaged each weighing 2.5 tons. Her propellers were removed a long time ago, together with any valuable scrap.' (5)
An octagonal white tile, 3", recovered from the ROHILLA in position 54 29.514N 000 35.442W. (Droit 126/06) (9)
A brass hinge, 19" long when opened out, recovered from the ROHILLA in 9m, position 54 29.514N 000 35.442W or approximately 500 metres offshore at Saltwick Nab. (Droit 214/06) (9)
Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:
ROHILLA: In a severe south-east gale and navigating under wartime restrictions of muffled navigation lights and buoys she smashed into a jagged reef a mile south of Whitby Harbour and broke her back some 400 yards offshore. Heroic efforts were made by various lifeboats to rescue patients and crew, only 145 survived. (4)
'The liner ROHILLA, Capt. Neilson, was taken over early in the First World War for service as a hospital ship. At 4am on October 30th, 1914, while on her way from Leith to Dunkirk to evacuate wounded [men], she ran on the rocks half a mile south of Whitby. There was a full gale blowing at the time and it was at first thought that the ship had struck a mine as she had been in the vicinity of a minefield a short time before. The Whitby, Redcar, and Upgang lifeboats went to the rescue but it was some time before the seas permitted them to approach the wreck. The total number on board when the ROHILLA left Leith was 229, of whom 83 were lost. Capt. Neilson and all the nurses were among the survivors.' (6)
'This hospital ship sailed from Leith docks on 29.10, bound for Dunkirk to pick up troops wounded on the Western Front. Of the 229 people on board, these included crew, 100 medical staff, a Roman Catholic priest and one patient, a naval gunner who had broken a thigh at Scapa Flow. The liner suffered a severe blow off Whitby, which may have been a mine, or there was some suggestion she had struck the Whitby Rock. She drove ashore at 4.10am in a severe SE gale, and broke her back some 660 yards offshore whilst lying on the outer edge of The Scar. There followed a series of lifeboat rescues which have gone down in the annals of local history, since the Upgang lifeboat was lowered by hand almost vertically down a cliff face. The Tynemouth lifeboat HENRY VERNON reached the scene and poured oil on the water, allowing over 50 survivors to struggle aboard. The wreck lies between 6 and 15m depth, the bow of the wreck being mixed up with the remains of the SS CHARLES.' (7)
A British hospital ship of 7891 tons which was wrecked off Whitby on 30-OCT-1914. (8)
'100 PERISH IN WRECK OF A HOSPITAL SHIP. British Steamer Rohilla, Carrying Doctors and Nurses, Hits Rocks in a Gale.
'London, Oct. 30 - The British steamer ROHILLA, which was being used as a hospital ship, ran on the rocks off Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, early this morning, and it is believed that fully 100 of those on board the vessel have perished.
'Including the hospital forces and her crew the ROHILLA had about 200 persons on board. Among these were four women nurses and several doctors. All the women on board were saved. One of these is said to have been a TITANIC survivor. Every one of the vessel's boats, except the last one, launched, was smashed by the seas and washed ashore. The remaining boat was swamped near shore and those in it waded to safety.
'Lifeboats with extreme difficulty brought ashore two loads of the vessel's passengers, after which further attempts at rescue with the boats were abandoned. During the day more than fifty persons were seen climbing to the rigging of the ship. After that she broke in two and the stern sank. Tremendous seas are lashing the wreck; and it is feared that further rescues are impossible.
'Early this morning the ROHILLA's signals of distress were seen on shore, and soon afterward the bodies of four seamen were hurled upon the beach in a mass of wreckage.
'The ROHILLA, a vessel of 7,000 tons, was bound from Queensferry to Belgium to bring back wounded from France. She ran on the rocks half a mile south of Whitby, seventeen miles northwest of Scarborough, at 4 o'clock this morning during a violent south-east gale and rainstorm.
'A dispatch to the Evening News from Whitby late today said the ship was breaking up. The life savers shot a line across the floating forward part of the ROHILLA, but communication between the vessel and the shore could not be established.' (10)
1906: Built as ROHILLA for the British India Steam Navigation Co.; 7143 tons.
30-OCT-1914: Wrecked Saltwick Nab, 1 mile south of Whitby. (11)
The liner ROHILLA, Capt. Neilson, was taken over early in the First World War for service as a hospital ship. At 4am on October 30th, 1914, while on her way from Leith to Dunkirk to evacuate wounded [men], she ran on the rocks half a mile S of Whitby. There was a full gale blowing at the time and it was at first thought that the ship had struck a mine as she had been in the vicinity of a minefield a short time before. The Whitby, Redcar, and Upgang lifeboats went to the rescue but it was some time before the seas permitted them to approach the wreck. The total number on board when the Rohilla left Leith was 229, of whom 83 were lost. Capt. Neilson and all the nurses were among the survivors. (13)
Contemporary footage of the wrecked vessel and rescue effort. (14)
Built: 1906 (6)(7)(11)
Builder: Harland and Wolff (6)(7)(11)
Where Built: Belfast (6)(7)(11)
Propulsion: Screw-driven, 8-cylinder quad engine (7); triple-expansion engine (6)
HP: 1484 (6)(7)
Boilers: 6 (7)
Construction: 3 decks; 8 bulkheads; poop and bridge decks 358 feet; forecastle 62 feet (7)
Official Number: 124149 (12)
Master: Neilson (6); Nielson (7)
Crew: 229 (6)(7)
Crew lost: 84 (6)(7); 100 (10)
Owner: British India Steam Navigation Co. (6)(7)(11)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
SYC p29 and 161; Wreck of the ROHILLA, K Wilson, 1982; Board of Trade WW1 Wreck Return 1914 Pt II p14(2)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
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