The P. & O. liner Morea leaving Tilbury, 1928

细节

William Minshall Birchall (1884-1941)
The P. & O. liner Morea leaving Tilbury, 1928
signed, inscribed and dated 'Sailing day. Tilbury W.M. Birchall. 1928.' (lower right)
pencil, pen and ink and watercolour heightened with white
14¼ x 20½ in. (36.2 x 52 cm.)

注意事项

This lot is subject to Collection and Storage Charges. No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

拍品专文

One of the celebrated "M" class of ten liners ordered for P. & O. between 1903 and 1911, Morea was built by Barclay, Curle at Glasgow in 1908. Registered at 10,895 tons gross (5,965 net), she measured 562 feet in length with a 61 foot beam and her two powerful quadruple expansion engines gave her a cruising speed of 17 knots. With accommodation for 407 1st and 200 2nd class passengers, she left Tilbury on her maiden voyage to Sydney, via Columbo, on 4^th December 1908 and continued scheduled sailings until requisitioned by the Admiralty soon after War was declared in 1914. Employed as a hospital ship in 1915 and a troop transport the following year, in 1917 she was converted into an armed merchant cruiser, a role she retained until the Armistice in 1918. Returning to civilian duties in October 1919, she remained in service on the Far East route until 1930 when she was sold for scrapping.