UGANDA

She was cruising with many school pupils on board when the call-up was received by radio from her owners and the Ministry of Defence.

Following conversion into a hospital ship Uganda sailed to the South Atlantic to await orders from the Royal Navy task force.

In normal times Uganda was a good example of a ship which, because of changing times, had to adopt a new career in which she achieved remarkable success.

She started off as a passenger liner operating on the East Africa service and when this closed she switched to educational cruising, carrying youngsters in her dormitories and a number of passengers in the first class section.

British India ordered Uganda in the late 1940s from Barclay Curle's Clydeside shipyard and she was launched in January 1952.

Uganda's maiden voyage as a schools ship was made from Southampton in February 1968, when more than 900 children from Norfolk and Northumberland were aboard.

A regular pattern of cruising followed, from Southampton and other UK ports during the summer and from Mediterranean ports in the winter on a fly-cruise basis for UK passengers.

After the Falklands Uganda never really returned to her former glory until finally she was laid up in the River Fal in Cornwall.

In May 1986 Uganda began her one-way trip to a scrapyard in the Far East.