Built 1905, Swan, Hunter Wigham Richardson Ltd.
Length 283.0 ft. Breadth 37.1ft Depth 16.2ft Gross tonnage 1959
Built for the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company Ltd. Sold to the Eastern Telegraph Company in 1912. Chartered shortly after by the Western Telegraph Company for repair and renewal of cables on the east coast of South America. Followed by similar work for the Eastern in the Red Sea and down the east coast of Africa. In 1919 based at Zanzibar for the maintenance of cables in the area. Severely damaged in a storm, repairs were carried out in Durban and Cambria remained there as repair ship for the St Helena - Cape Town cable. Put up for sale in 1928, but was taken over by Imperial & International Communications Ltd. in 1929. Transferred to the West Indies in 1930 as repair ship. Refitted in 1935 then carried out renewal work on cables between Montevideo and the Amazon delta. This was followed by a transfer to the Mediterranean and then back to the West Indies and South America. 1939-41 was spent in the Atlantic before a final return to the West Indies. On the 8th November 1945 while anchored in Montevideo harbour Cambria was hit by the Uruguayan ship Almirante Rodriguez Luis and sank.
CABLE WORK
1906 Shetlands - Faroes - Iceland
With CS COLONIA
1905 Ireland - Canada
1910 Cape Verde Islands - Ascension - Buenos Aires
"Bill Glover/Atlantic-Cable.com Website"
http://atlantic-cable.com/stamps/index.htm
CAMBRIA Ascension 1999 35p