The UK Shipping Controller ordered her, and she was built to War Standard design Type B. R Chapman and Sons of Newcastle upon Tyne operated her throughout her working life.

[3] She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine that was built by Blair and Company and rated at 397 NHP.

The ship crossed the South Atlantic to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where she joined Convoy SL 36 to the British Isles.

At 11:55 hrs on 1 July U-102 hit her with one torpedo in the Southwest Approaches about 180 nautical miles (330 km) west of Ushant.

The destroyer HMS Vansittart rescued 26 survivors, including Captain Elsdon and one DEMS gunner.