On the night of the 18-19 November 1917 the SS Aparima whilst sailing to a Welsh port for coaling was torpedoed by UB 40 in the English Channel off Anvil Point. The ship was hit in the stern, where the cabin with 30 cadets was located, and quickly took on water and began sinking by the stern. The crew abandoned ship with many taking to the lifeboats and others leaping directly into the water. Some of the lifeboats failed to clear the sinking ship and were capsized when they were struck by their own davits. Of a total compliment of 110, 54, including 17 cadets, lost their lives.
The Aparima (Union Steam Ship Company) was launched in 1902 and from 1912 was used as a cadet training ship for up to 50 cadets. During the war she was employed as a troop transport between February 1915 and May 1917 and was then requistioned by the British authorities. A year before the Aparima's final voyage the Union Steam Ship Company had written to the parent's of the cadets permitting them to remove their sons due to the increased danger of sailing in war zones. A number did withdraw hence the reduced numbers on board it the time the Aparima sunk.
The cadets shared the same dangers as the rest of the crew but they were unpaid. As a result the parents of the drowned cadets struggled to obtain any compensation for their loss. Eventually the Union Steam Ship Company paid some compensation.
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