What kind of vessel??

[HMac]

I am resonably sure seaweed is on the right track here. It is the "Crossing the Line" certificate that you refer to and a troopship would never at that time be named. These vessels had coded names. For example when CITY OF VENICE was lost her coded name was HMT AA.1.
Regards
Hugh

[seaweed]

Hugh,
Daft question. Would a Royal Navy ship hold a "Crossing the Line" ceremony in June 1941?
regds
SW

[HMac]

The answer would be yes, seaweed. It would be down to the captain to decide but there is evidence of this happening throughout the war including 1941.
Regards
Hugh

[walkerpete]

I've just finished reading 'Till we meet again' by Bert Martin and Hazel Spencer. Included in the book are accounts of two crossing the line ceremonies aboard the trooper Rangitiki in 1941 while en route for Egypt.

[seaweed]

RANGITIKI sailed as an independent from Bermuda 32.17 N on Thursday 5/June/1941. She arrived Belfast 17/June/1941.
Assuming she sailed direct her position on 9/June 1941 would have been roughly South West of the Azores 37.74 N
So a fair few miles from the Equator.
My own records and http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=RANGITIKI~armain

[walkerpete]

In the book, based on the author’s diaries, he records left Freetown 21 Aug 1941 and line crossing ceremony was 3-4 days later en route for Durban.
Second ceremony was on 19 September after leaving Durban en route for Aden.
This ties in nicely with data in your link to the Arnold Hague database.

This is a replacement post as first attempt seems to have vanished into the ether.

[seaweed]

The original poster gives the date of the incident as 9/June/1941.

[walkerpete]

I wasn't suggesting that Rangitiki might be F 17!

I was agreeing that crossing the line ceremonies took place in WW2!

[cpercival]

Only just caught up with this thread.  I am with Seaweed on this.  HMT would have been His Majesty's transport.  F17 would refer to the vessels position in a convoy.  Column and number.  This designation would be specific to that convoy and would be discarded on arrival at destination.

Clive P