RMS Magdalena was an ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

 completed in 1899 by Robert Napier and Sons

Robert Napier (engineer)

Robert Napier was a Scottish engineer, and is often called "The Father of Clyde Shipbuilding."-Early life:Robert Napier was born in Dumbarton at the height of the Industrial Revolution, to James and Jean Napier...

 at Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 for Royal Mail Steam Packet Company

Royal Mail Steam Packet Company

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by Scot James Macqueen. After good and bad times it became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when it took over the White Star Line....

.

As well as being a mail ship and liner, Magdalena was employed as a troopship

Troopship

A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...

 in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Service history

Her maiden voyage on 2nd August 1889 was a charter by the Mayor and Corporation of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

 in which they attended the Royal Naval Review at Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

. The review had been ordered by Queen Victoria in honour of her nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II; Magdalena was the only merchant ship to take part.

The RMSPC then employed Magdalena on the South American

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 route. By 1905, she was deemed to be too small for the route and was used mainly on the West Indies service. On 12th June 1912, while on route to Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

, Magdalena went to the assistance of a sailing barque

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

 that had been becalmed; her crew had been living on a single biscuit each per day for 40 days. At the end of 1912, Magdalena took the England Cricket Team on a successful tour of the West Indies.

In 1915, she was taken-up by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 as a troopship and became HMT Magdalena. She was employed moving Australian troops across the Mediterranean and bringing West Indian troops to Europe. An influenza outbreak on board in January 1917 forced the ship into quarantine in Barbados. In August 1918, the Magdalena brought the Gold Coast Regiment

Ghana Regiment

The Ghana Regiment is an infantry regiment that forms the main fighting element of the Ghanaian Army.The regiment was formed in 1879 as the Gold Coast Constabulary, from personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to perform internal security and police duties in the British colony of...

 home at the close of the East African Campaign

East African Campaign (World War I)

The East African Campaign was a series of battles and guerrilla actions which started in German East Africa and ultimately affected portions of Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, British East Africa, Uganda, and the Belgian Congo. The campaign was effectively ended in November 1917...

. At the end of the war, she was laid-up and scrapped in 1921.