For the king's service : railway ships at war / A.J. Mullay.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

In two World Wars, nearly 200 railway-owned ships were converted to operate as troop carriers, hospital ships, minesweepers, and seaplane-carriers, while others carried on normal sailings in a world suddenly more dangerous than before. Railway ships took part in such actions as the Gallipoli landings, the Battle of Jutland, Dunkirk and D-Day. One in three of them failed to return. They were bombed, mined, torpedoed, set on fire, strafed, no matter whether they conveyed materials or wounded patients. Their crews were drowned, captured, wounded and in one case, put to death by firing squad. This book tells their story.