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War Memorial
Australia

Raymond George Single attested for the No.1 Australian Hospital Ship and served aboard it during the Great War. He enlisted on 23 April 1915 and sailed on several voyages between Australia, England, and Egypt, returning to Australia on 21 February 1919.

Raymond George Single was born on 19 March 1889 in Marrickville, NSW, the third son of John Harcourt Single (1863-1932) and Elizabeth Mary Anne Alcock (1861-1934). Before enlisting in the AIF, he was a Salesman living at 19 Paramatta Rd. Camperdown.

He came from a large family of 10 children, the family being descendants of the grazier John Single (1791-1858), who in 1822 built Nepean House at Castlereagh (just west of Sydney) and pioneered the northwest plains of New South Wales. Raymond was one of 33 of John Single's grandsons or great-grandsons who served in the First World War; nine died, either in action or of disease. Among the nine, Raymond's younger brother Wilfred Gerard Single (1894-1917) was Killed in Action in France on 26 September 1917 whilst serving with the 29th Battalion. This was the attack on Polygon Wood, which also resulted in the death of two of Raymond's cousins, Captain Hubert Gordon Thompson and Captain Raymond Vallack Single, both killed in action at Polygon Wood on that day, serving as company commanders with the 56th Battalion. The Single extended family had lost three members in one battle in one day.

Raymond enlisted on 23 April 1915. Two days later, the first Anzacs would go ashore at Gallipoli. He would soon set sail for Egypt in the initial efforts to bring home the wounded.

In May 1915, Karoola was requisitioned by the British Government, allocated the number A63 and converted into a troop ship at Sydney. On 14 July 1915, Karoola embarked from Sydney, ferried a contingent of troops to Egypt, and then proceeded to Britain. She was converted into a hospital ship at Southampton with funds raised by public subscription in Australia. After an initial trip to Egypt on 9 September and a return to England, the Government installed a steam laundry at Southampton. On its completion, the ship left for Australia on 19 October 1915.

The service papers of Raymond Single record "4 December 1915 returned on Karoola as a Corporal". During the rest of the war, Karoola travelled between Australia, Britain, Egypt and the Mediterranean, ferrying the grievously wounded, the blind, the mentally ill, and the limbless. On her outbound voyages in 1916 to 1918 she transported Army Medical, Australian General Hospital, and Hospital Transport Corps reinforcements to England, before returning with more invalided soldiers.

For the remainder of the war, Raymond Single continued to serve aboard Karoola. On 28 August 1916, he was promoted to Lance-Sergeant, then promoted to Sergeant on 17 May 1917, followed by Staff Sergeant on 12 September 1917.
He re-embarked on Karoola from Melbourne on 23 January 1918. On that day, a small crowd stood on the wharf to bid the vessel farewell. By 6 pm, it had reached the heads and headed out to sea for the passage to Fremantle. On 29 January, Karoola set sail from Australia. On 1 February, the Karoola encountered many flying fish and porpoises as it travelled across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town, where it arrived on 13 February. On 16 February, the ship was ordered to return to Australia, and the vessel arrived back in Fremantle on the morning of 4 March, departing at 8 pm that night.

On 23 March, Karoola departed from Melbourne. Its ultimate destination was Egypt, where it would pick up wounded from the campaign in Palestine. On 29 March (Good Friday), the ship docked in Fremantle, where it stayed overnight before embarking on a northwest course for Colombo. On 1 April, news reached the ship of the battles raging in France on the Somme as part of Operation Michael. Two days later, the vessel received wireless notice of Lloyd George's appeal for further reinforcements from the Dominions for the upkeep of their armies in the Field. The German Spring Offensive of 1918 was underway. This was Germany's last best chance to win the war on the Western Front as they had redeployed their divisions from the Eastern Front after the collapse of Russia. The Germans knew that if they could not win before the arrival of United States troops, the war would be lost.

On 9 April, the ship reached Colombo, having sailed the previous night through a phosphorous sea. The bioluminescent sea glowed as it was disturbed by the churning of the ship's propeller. This event was caused by algae bloom sea sparkle events in calm and warm sea conditions. After a 24-hour stay in Colombo, during which time the Hospital Shift staff were allowed shore leave, the ship set sail at 7 am on 10 April, bound for the Red Sea. On 14 April, the ship passed the island of Socotra near the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. What followed was another week travelling up the busy shipping lanes of the Red Sea, passing many steamers and dhows as well as naval ships. On 20 April, the ship arrived at Suez, and leave was granted for Cairo. On 26 April, the crew returned to the ship, and Karoola embarked on its return voyage to Australia, carrying 400 wounded.
Throughout the war, Karoola made four voyages from Britain to Australia carrying severely wounded Australians and another four voyages from Egypt.

The last voyage of Karoola saw Raymond as a patient rather than as a member of the permanent ship's staff. In December 1918, he'd come down with influenza, presumably Spanish, and had been shipped home as an invalid.
For his service from April 1915 until April 1919, he was awarded the 1915 Star, British War Medal (pictured) and Victory Medal.

Life wasn't always easy for Raymond post-war. In 1940, he was an inmate at Goulburn Reformatory after being convicted at Darlinghurst Sessions in Sydney of a brutal assault. After the war, Raymond married Mary Ellam.

Raymond died in Wangaratta in 1970.