大象传媒

These were the memories of Sidney William Ginn which were passed on to his son Gerald Ginn.

鈥淭he description of the loss of the S.S. Transylvania on the 4th of May 1917 was written by my father Sidney William Ginn.

I can remember being told by my father that he stood at their post with sergeant Norman who went down with the Transylvania, my father told me that he offered up a little prayer before sliding down a rope left by the boats that had been lowered. The approaching destroyer could not stop because the Transylvania was sinking and my father was pulled from the rope by a sailor as the destroyer steamed slowly alongside.
The destroyer and its crew were Japanese. This is something that I have good cause to be thankful for although I lost several friends in Japanese hands in the 1939/45 war.
I can remember a telegram arriving from Marseilles with a short message 鈥淭hankful to be safe and well.鈥� It was some time before the loss of the Transylvania was reported in the press and we guessed the reason for the telegram.
The captain of the Transylvania was lost with his ship, I believe that his name was Captain Pope, a memoriam used to appear in the Times on the 4th of May every year until the 1939/45 war and then his son鈥檚 name was added, a fatality in the R.A.F.鈥�

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