There have been a number of Royal Navy ships named HMS Salisbury after our wonderful city.

HMS Salisbury captured by France in 1703, another was a warship built in 1707, then there was HMS Salisbury built in 1746 and condemned in 1761.

During the Second World War the USS Claxton was renamed HMS Salisbury and transferred to the Royal Navy.

I mention all this because I recently took possession of an old postcard showing a ship called ‘The City of Salisbury’ during her last few moments afloat – she sank in 1938.

The story of this ship is quite fascinating.

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The City of Salisbury was constructed in 1924 at Sunderland.

At the time of the sinking most of the cargo was comprised of exotic animals which included pythons, cobras, 300 monkeys and 20 crates of rare birds – not surprisingly, the vessel was known as The Zoo Ship!

Bound for New York, the cargo was estimated at nearly $2,000,000 and after nearing complication of a 10,000-mile trek, she was heading towards Boston Harbour.

The trek had taken the ship to Calcutta (where a bear managed to escape), India, Malay States and Nova Scotia where 25 monkeys also escaped.

It also transpired that during the voyage a king cobra had eaten its mate – what else could possibly go wrong?

As Captain Lewis approached Boston Harbour, a dense fog engulfed the ship making visibility very limited.

She came to a sudden halt, the result of becoming impaled on an uncharted pinnacle of rock and eventually a crack developed running along half of the ship.

Two weeks later the City of Salisbury slipped beneath the waves although prior to the vessel breaking in two, most of the animals and all of the crew of 14 seamen and four officers had been safely removed.