R.M.S. Lady Somers

This Canadian National Steamships promotional post card depicting a painting of a "Lady Boat" was painted by Scottish born Canadian artist William Rigg in 1935. The painting is used on post cards depicting each of the five sister ships.

A generic description of the "Lady Boats" appears on the reverse of the post card.

Cover to San Francisco, California with Nassau, Bahamas C.D.S. dated September
10, 1929 with Straight Line "MAILED AT SEA" AND "LADY SOMERS" Handstamps

This cover is franked with a Bahamas George V half penny definitive of 1924 and the two pence gray "George V and Seal of Bahamas" Peace Commemorative issue of March 1, 1920 cancelled with straight line "MAILED AT SEA" and "LADY SOMERS" handstamps. Technically this is not a correct use of the handstamps but the cover also has a Nassau, Bahamas circular date stamp for September 10, 1929 which is not an inappropriate cancellation because although the cover was mailed at sea, it is franked with stamps from the Bahamas.

At first glance one wonders why a post card with a Lady Somers handstamp would have a New York cancellation because New York was not on its itinerary in 1929. The answer is on the reverse where there is a faint offset Hamilton, Bermuda "COME TO BERMUDA/THE ISLES OF REST" cancellation next to the "RMS LADY SOMERS/164459/MONTREAL/N/T. 4940" handstamp. The one cent post card rate item, entered the mail stream in Hamilton and travelled to the U.S. on another ship, such as the RMS Arcadian, on the Hamilton, Bermuda to New York route.

Kingston, Jamaica Paquebot Cover (Hoskins Type 2402 used from 1920 to 1963) with handstamp from the R.M.S. Lady Somers franked with 2 cent King George V definitive of June 1, 1935

Boston, Mass. Paquebot Cover with handstamp from the R.M.S. Lady Somers franked with 2 cent King George VI "mufti" definitive from Canada

Sovenir postcard of "The Rowley's" Bermuda mailed at sea on the R.M.S. Lady Somers (front of postcard).

One of five sister steam turbine ocean liners known as "Lady Boats" built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead, England in 1928 and 1929 for the Canadian National Steamship Company, the Lady Somers was a Royal Mail Ship carrying mail, freight and passenger traffic between Halifax, Nova Scotia (and Montreal during the summer) on the western-route to Bermuda, the Bahamas and Jamaica, making a connection to British Honduras. An oil-burner, she had a set of four Cammell Laird steam turbines driving the propeller shafts to her twin screws by single-reduction gearing. She had three passenger decks plus cargo holds to facilitate Canadian exports including lumber, and imports to Canada including fruit, sugar and molasses. The Lady-liners also had additional refrigerated holds for perishable cargo such as fruit, and capacity for 100,000 bunches of bananas. Their hulls were painted white, a colour then confined largely to passenger ships serving tropical or sub-tropical destinations. Lady Somers with 175 crew and passengers was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Morosini in the North Atlantic on July 15th, 1941, while serving as an auxiliary cruiser.

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