The company’s three largest liners, Capetown Castle, Athlone Castle and Stirling Castle were used as troopships throughout the Second World War. They survived the war having transported over 350,000 men – but Union-Castle lost thirteen ships during the war period.
Arundel Castle (2)
War loss cards from the Lloyd’s Marine Collection
Post war, the Kenilworth Castle was transformed into “Noah’s Ark” when she transported a cargo of animals to London Zoo in October 1947. By the 1960s, the new Union-Castle flagship Windsor Castle (3), was bucking the Modernist trend for interiors with its traditional décor. It was described by The Times as ‘yesterday’s elegance, today’s comfort.’ Reina del Mar (Queen of the Sea) was UnionCastle’s only cruise ship offering a successful service between South Africa and South America during the Winter months. She was withdrawn at the end of the 1974/75 season as the Oil Crisis of 1973 meant she was no longer financially viable.
Capetown Castle
By the mid-1930s Union-Castle were offering passengers larger, faster vessels and new standards of accommodation, including the abolition of the second and third classes which became the popular ‘cabin class.’
Stirling Castle
Windsor Castle (3)
Windsor Castle (2) as built
Windsor Castle (2) after 1937 Stirling Castle children’s menu
The Union-Castle Line