Stobs Camp was not only an internment camp but also a training camp. One such group that trained at Stobs Camp was the 9th Battalion of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers. Some of whom perished in the sinking of the Royal Edward.
In the early days of July 1915 they had marched out of the camp and headed for the port of Avonmouth where they joined 1367 officers and other ranks and boarded the TS Royal Edward bound for the Gallipoli Campaign. The voyage from Avonmouth had gone without incident, and by the 13 August 1915 the ship was sailing close to the Island of Kandelossa and had passed the British Hospital Ship Soudan on it’s way to the UK. Unknown to both ships they had been spotted by the German Submarine U14 commanded by Herno von Heimburg. As von Heimburg observed both ships he allowed the Soudan to pass by and set his sights on the Royal Edward. The U14 released a single torpedo from almost a mile away which slammed into the Stern of the Royal Edward. It has been estimated that the damage to the Royal Edward was such that it sunk to the bottom of the Aegean in less than 6 minutes.
The death toll was estimated to be as much 935 men out of a total of 1367. Included in this number, according to the Scotsman Newspaper of 4th August 1915 were 100 men who had been reported as either missing or dead.
A list of those who were at Stobs Camp is available at the Heritage Hub Archives.
NOTE: Prior to being a troop ship with the British Military had a short life as an Internment Ship moored of the pier at Southend-on-Sea.