SS Letitia Passenger Lists 1930

Anchor-Donaldson Line, Turbine Twin-Screw Steamship SS Letitia (1925). GGA Image ID # 1d214eddf2

Letitia (1925) Anchor-Donaldson Line.

Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 13,475. Dimensions: 525' x 66'. Twin-screw, 15 1/2 knots. Steam turbines. Two masts and one funnel. Maiden voyage: Glasgow-Quebec-Montreal, April 1925. Renamed: (a) Empire Brent (1946), (b) Captain Cook (1952). Served as emigrant ship to Australia and New Zealand. Sold to British shipbreakers. Sister ship: Athenia.

All Digitized Passenger Lists For the SS Letitia Available at the GG Archives. Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route.

Passenger Lists contained in the GG Archives collection represent the souvenir list provided to the passengers of each cabin class (and other classes). Many of these souvenir passenger lists have disappeared over the years. Our collection contains a sampling of what was originally produced and printed by the steamship lines.

Launch of the New Liner Letitia

A cable from Glasgow to the Cunard Line announced the successful launching of the Anchor-Donaldson liner Letitia, Mrs. Charlea Donaldson, wife of the Chairman of the Company performing the christening ceremony. The Anchor- Donaldson Line operates between Canada, Ireland, and Scotland.

The new steamer is a sister ship of the Athenia, her predecessor by a year. Added to her many new features is a nursery in the third class, an innovation in this accommodation.

The Letitia will ply between St. Lawrence ports and the Clyde during the summer months, transferring to Portland, ME, for the winter months when the St. Lawrence is frozen over.

Brief History of the SS Letitia

The S.S. Letitia was a solid but unremarkable addition to the Anchor-Donaldson fleet. Registered 13,475 tons, she was 525 feet long with a 66ft beam with a service speed of 15 knots. 

The Letitia was converted to serve as an armed merchant cruiser. The British Admiralty requisitioned the ship in the early days of WW2. It was rapidly made clear that large liners were unsuitable for such service.

She was withdrawn in 1941 to become a troopship. The Letitia was later used as a hospital ship in Canada for the duration of the war after being heavily damaged in 1943.

The Letitia returned to civilian service in 1946, purchased by the Ministry of Transport, who renamed her Empire Brent and assigned Donaldson Brothers & Black to manage her. The ship could be found carrying troops to the Far East and was used as an emigrant ship to Australia.

Briefly laid up in 1950, she was returned to service under charter to the Government of New Zealand as Captain Cook. She was finally withdrawn from service in 1960 and sold for scrap to Ward's of Hull.