In the autumn of 1946 the British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious undertook possibly her most unusual task, in transporting approximately 700 Australian war brides to … However, most of the women were very glad to see that their husbands were there waiting for them on the dock. Facilities included irons, ironing boards, an ice-cream machine, soda fountain, water fountains, a kiosk and a canvas shelter on the flight deck. Almost immediately after commissioning in May 1941 the carrier had been in fleet operations in the Arctic, Atlantic and the Far East. Just two weeks after commissioning in 1941, Victorious took part in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic.

In some ports it was considered necessary to have escorts as some of the women were inexperienced in the ways of the world. He said, ‘I have never had women on my ship before and I hope never to have them again’. For 700 women, this very quickly proved to be totally inadequate and the overflow space lacked ventilation. The aircraft hangar was converted into dormitories with rows of bunks and overhead fans.

The women that chose to return home to Australia returned on ships that took them back the way they had come but this time they often had children and memories of experiences unlike those back home.Early in the voyage the Captain made a speech to the women which probably reflected his frustration at the behaviour of some of his passengers.

This had been anticipated and 7,000 paper bags had been obtained which proved to be invaluable. Brides on deck of tender try to spot their husbands on quay and walk over gangway to shore carrying luggage. In order to use the hangar as accommodation for the brides, some redundant aircraft were rolled overboard when the ship was in deep water clear of Sydney Heads. The good captain and all his young female passengers did survive their ordeal and later celebrated what was to most an adventure of a lifetime.Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Captain Annesley announced to the women, ‘I never thought I’d see the day when sex reared its ugly head on my ship! Over a period of time, the food was rationed as the Captain was attempting to introduce his passengers to what they could expect in post war England. This was to put a stop to issues of ‘class’ arising although those who had married above sub-lieutenant rank had cabins while everyone else had dormitory accommodation.The menu was altered to ‘suit women’, with heavy puddings and soups removed but Captain Annesley reported that ‘appetites were enormous’. No baths or toilets were in easy reach of this cabin. HMS Victorious, ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme, was the third Illustrious-class aircraft carrier after Illustrious and Formidable.She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939. It was reported that they would meet up on the deck at night and hide anywhere they couldn’t be easily seen, for their rendezvous. An Australian Red Ensign commemorative flag, waved when HMS VICTORIOUS left Sydney in 1946 with Australian war brides bound for England. Needless to say, there were many complaints!Seasickness was a major problem to be handled, with many of the brides being very ill and unable to cope with the rough weather, particularly when the ship was crossing the Great Australian Bight. This was the best that could be done to solve this problem but young people seemed to break the rules regularly. There were sunken ships lying on their sides as well as German prisoners of war wandering around. This involved the construction of new superstructure above the hangar deck level, a new angled flight deck,In early June 1941, while part of the escort for troop convoy The Arctic convoys had been suspended temporarily after the heavy losses suffered by She left for Scapa Flow on 18 November and, while en route, After May 1945 the British Pacific Fleet withdrew to Sydney and Manus for refits and, in the cases of The ship was extensively reconstructed and modernised at On 25 September 1958 Commander J. D. Russell drowned in his Supermarine Scimitar after a failed attempt to land on In 1960, after recommissioning into the Home Fleet on 14 January 1958, with work-ups and deployments in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, she portrayed both herself and HMS On 11 November 1967, after the completion of the 1967 refit and shortly before the start of what was intended as the ship's final commission, there was a relatively small fire, which was rapidly extinguished, in the chief petty officers' 1941 Illustrious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy There are differences between sources on the precise details of the circumstances of Hobbs David British Aircraft Carriers Seaforth 2013