War stories

Soon after Britain declared war on Germany on September 1939, my father , who was then 22, boarded the USS President Harding at Southampton to make the Atlantic crossing to New York. The battle of the U-boats and merchant shipping was in full glory in the North Atlantic and passenger liners often fell into the middle of the skirmishes. There's a record of that in these listings below.
• http://www.mareud.com/Timelines/1939-1945.htm

The ship that my dad took from England to the US for his first trip.

• PRESIDENT HARDING The "President Harding" of 1927 was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, NJ as the "Lone Star State" in 1920 for the United States Lines. She was a 13,869 gross ton ship, length 516.5ft x beam 72.2ft, one funnel, two masts, twin screw and a speed of 18 knots. There was accommodation for 320-1st and 324-3rd class passengers. Launched on 23/12/1920, she sailed from New York on her maiden voyage to Plymouth, Cherbourg, Bremen, Southampton, Cherbourg and New York on 25/3/1922. After this voyage, she was renamed "President Taft" and started the first of two similar voyages under this name on 29/4/1922. She was then renamed "President Harding" and resumed the same service on 8/7/1922. On 7/4/1926 she was refitted to carry cabin and 3rd class passengers, and in April 1931 altered to carry cabin, tourist and 3rd class. In February 1932 she went back to Cabin and 3rd class and on 16/8/1939 commenced her last crossing from Hamburg to Havre, Southampton, Cobh and New York. On 22/9/1939 she started a single round voyage from New York to Cobh and Pauillac(Bordeaux), and on 25/10/1939 started a single New York - Southampton round voyage. She was sold to the Belgian owned Societe Maritime Anversoise in 1940, renamed "Ville de Bruges" and commenced her first New York - Havre crossing on 15/3/1940. On 14/5/1940 she was bombed by German aircraft in the River Scheldte; beached and burnt out. In 1952 she was demolished. [North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.4, p.1546] She may have been renamed "President Harding" because there was a "President Taft" owned by Pacific Mail Line. This is the ship that later became a government owned US army transport in 1941 and was renamed "General Willard A.Holbrook" - [Posted to The ShipsList by Ted Finch - 7 April 1998}