I wonder if anybody could give me any details about which ship was torpedoed on this date please ? Thanking you in advance Annie TURNER, ARTHUR Private Royal Army Medical Corps 04/05/1917 79715 SAVONA MEMORIAL Son of Tom and Alice Anne Turner, of 12, New Square, Birch St., West Gorton Volunteering in December 1915, he was retained at home on important duties until the following July, when he was despatched to France where he served for about eight months. During this period he took a distinguished part in the battles of the SOMME and ARRAS and was in action at BEAUCOURT, but in March 1917 he was invalided home. Afterwards he was drafted to Egypt, but unfortunately was drowned through his ship being torpedoed in the Mediterranean Sea on May 4th 1917.
I'm wondering if this is the one ?? .... and as I'm no good with geography ... can anybody tell me if it is ? The liner Transylvania Lt S. Brennell R.N.R. was taken over on completion by the Admiralty as a troop transport. She was modified to carry 200 officers and 2,860 men plus crew (As a passenger ship she was designed to carry 1379 passengers) She left Marseilles for Alexandria on 3rd May 1917 with an escort of two Japanese destroyers Matsu and Sakaki. At 10.00am on 4th May the vessel was struck in the port engine room by a torpedo - at the time she was steaming at fourteen knots on a zig zag course two and a half miles south of Cape Vado, Bay of Genoa. She immediately headed for the shore two miles away with the Matsu alongside to take off the troops. At 10.30am a torpedo was seen coming straight for the Matsu and she immediately went full astern with the torpedo striking the Transylvania and by 11.15am she had sunk. Lt Brennell one other officer and ten crew along with 29 military officers and 373 other ranks were killed .
Annie - sorry for the delay in replying but I have been away for a few days. The only picture I have of Transylvania is an art postcard which I show here. I am sorry but i do not have a picture of the memorial.
Thanks Pal ... I saw that but I was hoping for a picture of the memorial on it's own ! ..... It's funny when you Google you find all these soldiers that are commemorated on there from different Honour Rolls ... but nobody seems to have a picture of it ! Annie
New York Times says she was a marked ship ...... surely the British knew that ?? http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E0CE3D8123AE433A25756C2A9639C946696D6CF
I found another picture of the Transylvania here: http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=19107 ......but it only has two funnels. It appears that there was another one launched about 1925 and sunk in 1940, but which one is which
I didn't know Christopher Columbus came from there did you ?? I'm finding some lovely sites but I don't speak Italian ! http://www.savonaweb.net/ We'll have to wait for Cally to tell us about the ships !! Scrim found this picture ... wonder how many of these boys died that were on here ?? this was taken May 1917 ! )
