A postcard from Grant in South Australia.
Built for Orient Lines in 1928, SS Orford was loaned to France during WW2 as a troop carrier. She ran aground in Marseilles while evacuating troops in 1940. It took seven years for her to be refloated, after which she was scrapped.
She made many journeys between Australia and England in the 1930′s. In 1934 she carried Don Bradman’s cricket team “The Invincibles” from Australia to England along with the Australian Davis Cup tennis team.
[...] interesting articles about ships. I add all my ship articles here. But if you’re interested:SS Orford – A short life. Don Bradman travelled on this ship.RMS Orion / SS Orion – The first “Ten Pound [...]
My father Frank Arthur Hutchinson was on the SS Orford as a purser I beleive. Is there any way I could find out more about it – i.e. when he was actually with the ship and what voyages he made. Any help or information would be appreciated. Kind regards Lenna
I have an unofficial publication The ORFORD CALENDER with itinerary for the voyage on the 29th Sep 1929 to 2nd Jan 1930 Britain to Australia, table of distances etc. I intend to put it on ebay; I don’t expect it to be a huge money maker but just thought you may be interested. Geoff.
Hey Neil,
I was just googling some information about Orford, and had to drop into your site to say hi. A bit of extra info on Orford which led to my search – it is the ship on the Sydney Harbour bridge commemorative stamp from 1932 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/80651083@N00/166876546/
Thanks for the info. Hey that’s a great stamp. I might have a look through my albums here and see if I have it.
My late father was a steerage passenger on the Orford on it’s maiden voyage from England to Australia, with several other Dreadnought Boys.