Mathura 1 was built in 1920 and by the 1930s she was laid up owing to her being a larger ship then normal and proving difficult to operate and make a decent profit. There were four ships that had been built to her size, the others being Magdapur, Manipur and Mangalore. She had been anchored in Rothesay Bay and used as a floating hotel for members of Brocklebank's staff and their wives. She was proving difficult to sell and expensive to lay up. It was decided to experiment and try something not done before and that was to shorten the ships by removing the central hold. This pioneering work was a success and all four ships were shortened and put back into service. At the end of the work Mathura was 37 feet 6 inches shorter. She survived the war and was sold to Harris and Dixon of London in 1959 and renamed Thumara, which is an anagram of Mathura.
Photo copyright A Duncan
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