Launched in the shadow of the Titanic tragedy, The
White Star Line's SS Ceramic seemed destined for a quiet
life serving the Australian route via South Africa. Yet,
scarcely had she completed her maiden voyage, than war
broke out, and she found herself requisitioned by the
Australian government as a troop transport, returning to
her original role as a passenger carrying merchant ship
during the inter-war years, the heyday of ocean
transport. With the outbreak of the Second World War,
the SS Ceramic stayed on her regular route, but again
found herself transporting troops between continents, as
well as civilian passengers; a dual role that was
considered a 'calculated risk' at the time. Detached
from Atlantic Convoy ON149 in December 1942, the SS
Ceramic had not prgressed far before she was torpedoed
and sunk west of the Azores by U-515. 20-year old Eric
Munday, a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, was the only
survivor - picked up by the U-boat which returned later
to a scene of devastation following overnight storms
which had wiped out the lifeboats and claimed 655 lives,
women and children among them. One of the casualties was
the author's grandfather, Trevor Winser. This book is
the result of the author's investigation into the
circumstances of that night, and the ship that shared
his fate. For the first time, Eric Munday tells his
story in full, and the surviving crew of U-515 give
their own accounts of the sinking of the Ceramic, ranked
the 23rd worst wartime shipping disaster of any nation
or period. After more than 60 years, the story of the SS
Ceramic is finally told. |
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