THE SS UGANDA Website. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ss.uganda/ath/ugandabook.htm Two cruise liners, The SS Uganda, and sister ship, The SS Kenya had originally operated in Africa, throughout the 1950’s and early 1960’s carrying passengers and cargo, but they were later converted into floating school dormitories to take children on educational cruises around the Mediterranean, and Baltic seas. More than one million student, mostly aged fourteen to sixteen, experienced continental travel without their parents on these expeditions. The costs were often reduced by the dormitory lifestyle, with students packed into communal bunkrooms rather than being given private cabins, though the ships also took ordinary passengers as well. Rising costs and economic recession gradually killed off the educational cruise programme. The SS. Uganda found itself commissioned as a hospital ship during the British-Argentinean War for the Falkland Islands in 1982. The Argentineans issued propaganda claims that the ship had been sunk in reprisal for the attack on the Belgrano, but that was not true. More than seven hundred wounded soldiers, from both sides were treated on the Uganda, owing their lives to the skills of her crew.
The dormitories that once carried the students proved ideally suited as large hospital wards and operating theatres. Sadly, soon after the Falklands conflict, the Uganda was scrapped. Remarkably, the fond memories of anyone who sailed or worked on her during her three periods of life have kept the spirit of the Uganda very much alive. The website allows people to reminisce about their happy memories, buy genuine souvenirs of the ship, and even a book on its history. Like Friends re-United, the website has drawn together people who have some knowledge and experience of this remarkable vessel. Many students found their first true experience of romance and love on her decks. The website brings back magical heartfelt memories for the many people who ever had any association with this truly remarkable vessel.