Author Kevin Griffin kindly shared the following excerpt from his upcoming book;
“The G W K Roberts Co, also known as the Monarch Line also operated two small vessels, the 215-ton Monarch of Nassau and 186-ton Richard Campbell, which had been used on the Miami-Nassau mail route before the war, but these two were used on longer 12-day voyages through the Out Islands and usually called at the P&O Dock in Miami. Meanwhile, the Jean Brillant would return at the end of 1942 to resume her winter passenger and cargo service, and next time it would be for a longer spell.”
During its life it ran routes through the entire Bahamas, delivered “Father Jerome” John Hawes, the Hermit of Cat Island to that island, rescued a family of non conformist from California who tried to “colonize” the Turks & Caicos with their own commune (it failed), traded bananas with the Greater Antilles, rammed and damaged a passenger ship in Miami named Fire Island, and was put up for sale in Texas. Carl Sawyer of Miami and Nassau was its last owner, and one of his captains was Captain Roland Roberts.
In mid-March 1942 the Monarch of Nassau rescued 30 Greek sailors under Captain Mamais from the Greek ship Cygnet (ex-Mirach) which was torpedoed and sunk 4 miles from Dixon Hill, San Salvador by the Italian submarine R.Smg. Enrico Tazzoli under Carlo Fecia di Cossato.