Aus 011

A rare example of a news letter published onboard the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Ausonia, called “The Ausonian” with the ships motto Labor Sed Felicitas (The Happiness of Labour) on the front page. Not dated, but it mentions that the ship is now attached to the United States Navy Task Force 2 and will operate under Rear Admiral Cook USN. Task Force 2 was formed on 1st July 1941 to support the defence of Iceland and to escort convoys between the USA and Iceland, so the newspaper would have been produced some time after this and before March 1942 when the ship returned to the UK for conversion to a Heavy Repair Ship.

Although not in the best condition, it has survived and does give an insight into the role that the ship was performing during the early years of the war and includes many interesting facts about the life onboard.

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