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RMS Queen Mary
On its journey to Egypt, the Battalion travelled to Trincomalee in what was then Ceylon on the RMS Queen Mary. The convoy left Sydney on 28 December 1940, and arrived in Ceylon via Freemantle on 12 January 1941. This was the ships's Voyage No.6 in its wartime role.
A lot of information about this historic ship can be found on the following pages:
"The Queen Mary left New York for Sydney, where she, along with several other liners, was converted into a troopship to carry Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the United Kingdom. In the conversion, her hull, superstructure and funnels were painted navy grey. Inside, stateroom furniture and decoration were removed and replaced with triple-tiered wooden bunks (which were later replaced by standard bunks). Six miles of carpet, 220 cases of china, crystal and silver service, tapestries and paintings were removed and stored in warehouses for the duration of the war. The woodwork in the staterooms, the first-class dining room and other public areas was covered with leather. The Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth were the largest and fastest troopships involved in the war, often carrying as many as 15,000 men in a single voyage, and often travelling out of convoy and without escort. Their high speed meant that it was difficult for U boats to catch them."
"On 7 March 1940 the newly completed Queen Elizabeth arrived to join the Queen Mary, Mauratania and Normandie at New York. On 21 March the Queen Mary left New York under orders to sail for Cape Town and Sydney. On arrival work began converting the ship into a troopship. The luxury furnishings were removed and tiers of bunks and hammocks were fitted. Although small calibre guns were fitted on the ship it main protections was to be its speed. On 4 May, the ship left for the Clyde with 5,000 troops of the Australian Imperial Force on board. It arrived there on 16 June and then sailed for Singapore carrying troops to bolster the defence in view of Japan's increasing threat. After an overhaul there it returned to Sydney and then made trooping voyages between there and India for the rest of the year."
This site records the Queen Mary travels in early 1941, but is silent on many of the details.
