Jane,
Welcome to Ships Nostalgia.
I'm afraid I don't have any information for PLM 8, but I do have some for PLM 13.
PLM 13
Official Number: 174321
3442 grt 2084 nrt
345.0 x 49.5 x 25.0 feet
3-cylinder Triple Expansion Steam Engine by Smiths Dock Co Ltd Middlesbrough. 430nhp 9 knots
13.10.1920 Launched by Smith's Dock Co. Ltd, Middlesborough. Yard number 761.
04.1921 Completed for Societe Nationale d' Affretements, Paris, France as PLM 13. She was a French steam collier for the "Paris, Lyon, Marseille" (hence PLM) railway company.
18.02.1941 Intercepted by the Ocean Boarding Vessel HMS MARSDALE in position 28-12N 012-23W and taken to Gibraltar.
12.03.1941 Registered in the ownership of the Ministry of Shipping, London.
09.05.1941 Christian Salvesen and Co., Leith, appointed managers.
08.1941 Owners became the Ministry of War Transport, London.
16.07.1945 UK register on vessel closed on her return to the French Government.
1946 Owners became Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais (Societe Nationale d' Affretements, managers), Paris. AKA SNCF - the French nationalised railway company.
1951 Sold to W. Rostedt, Abo, Finland and renamed MARIANNE.
1958 Sold to the Three Diamonds Shipping Corporation, Liberia (Eugenia Saridis and Constantinos Bastas) and renamed DIMITRAKIS.
28.02.1961 Laid up at Piraeus.
20.03.1961 Breaking up began at Piraeus.
As you can see, she was built for a French railway company to carry coal and was then taken over by the UK during the war. My Grandfather sailed in her during the early part of the war when she was managed by Salvesens of Leith - they were his regular employers for some time.
See attached a couple of photographs of her, plus her voyage card which covers her service under the UK flag from 1941-1945. The second photograph shows her during her wartime configuration, with Carley Floats (liferafts) on deck and a gun mounted aft.
Hope this helps.