SS Ceramic: The Untold Story: Includes the rescue of sole survivor Eric Munday

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.