The Marquette, a large steamer of 7057 tons, was built in Glasgow in 1898. Designed as a cargo vessel she was converted to a transport ship at the beginning of the first World War. On 19th October 1915 at 7pm the Marquette sailed from Alexandria bound for Salonika. On board was the No.1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital which included 36 nurses of the NZ Army Nursing Service and staff from the NZ Medical Corps. Also on board were some 500 officers and troops of the British 29th Divisional Ammunition Column with their equipment and mules. In total there were 741 people on board the Marquette.
A French destroyer escort left the Marquette on the night of the 22nd October. At 9am on October 23rd 1915 the Marquette was hit by a torpedo from new heavyweight German submarine No.35 and rapidly listed to port. Those not killed in the explosion moved quickly to put on lifebelts and moved to lifeboat stations to abandon ship. One lifeboat on the port side fell onto another killing and injuring many. Many being lowered in boats on the starboard side were tipped out into the sea. Only one boat left the Marquette with nurses aboard. The ship sank within 10 minutes with still several men and four nurses on deck. Two of these nurses survived despite being sucked under the water by the sinking ship.
“While standing on the deck, I saw a boat load of men in uniform getting away. I wondered why we nurses were left on deck, without a chance of getting into a boat … perhaps on the starboard side the nurses may have all got into boats; but not on the port side” - A nurse aboard the Marquette
