Has anyone come across correspondence or photos of the British hospital ship Suntemple? She was formally HMHS Berbice, a naval hospital ship from 4 Dec 1915 until 1919, at which time she was purchased by the Admiralty from her owners. From this time (according to Dittmar & Colledge) she flew the blue ensign. She continued hospital ship service until 1922 when she was sold and renamed Suntemple. (She was replaced by RFA Maine). I had expected that, on being sold and renamed, she would have had her hospital ship colours painted over. However, I have a photo pic postcard of her still in hospital ship colours (white superstructure, with green band and red crosses on hull and funnels) with the name Suntemple. Moreover, I have another photo of her in hs colours, captioned (in the negative) HMT Suntemple, Constantinople 1922.
I can find no mention of Suntemple in service as a hs. It has been suggested that she was serving during the Charak crisis of 1922-23. She is not listed as a British ship in 'The Chanak Affair' (David Walder 1969).
Any comments/notes would be appreciated. Peter :D :D