quote:
it must be a great work of sympathy on your part dear Eric to take on all the letter writing it is going to mean replying to all the anxious suffering people who are left in this world as a result of their dear ones being on that ill fated ship...only we who are down in the deep hell of it all can appreciate what you are doing & thank you with all our hearts.
I've been researching and writing about maritime history for quite a few years now. Because of the nature of my work, many books about ships and the people connected with them cross my desk. Quite a few of these deal with the more tragic aspects of maritime history - even outside my obvious interest in the
Titanic and
Lusitania.
I can't remember a time when a book has moved me more than
SS Ceramic: The Untold Story. And I've barely arrived at the WWII chapters.
The book arrived yesterday (Tuesday in Oz time - note that I put my order in for the book last Thursday...what incredibly swift dispatch, and not even an express request! The entire ordering process went without a hitch, and the book was well packaged). The first impression was extremely positive - cover design and layouts were all excellent.
I had intended to read it start to finish, but as I chatted to the family I flipped through the pages and my eye caught the section dealing with the letter after letter after letter written to Eric Munday from those seeking information on what had happened. The above quotes were chosen at random, and can hardly give an idea of the cumulative effect of these wrenchingly painful requests for information on loved ones. What an extraordinary burden to place on one man, the sole survivor...and what an extraordinary man to rise to that burden and try to give whatever comfort was in the information he could provide. As Clare notes in the text, this book will now fulfil a deep need for all those out there who, for personal reasons, want to know what happened to the
Ceramic.
But that's getting ahead of the story. I should probably wait until I've read it cover to cover, but the impact of reading this book is so immediate it won't wait.
It's the richest collection of primary source material imaginable, and it covers the history of the vessel from the time of its inception. In that sense, it's a wonderful ship history. It's also wartime history - I was so engrossed in the commemorative magazine produced by Aussie troops returning home in 1920 that I forgot the ultimate end. I was reminded of some of the stories from her troopship transport days of what my grandfather, a Gallipoli reinforcement, related of similar experiences. Then those wonderful halcyon days of the 20s and 30s, when men like Harold Lowe sailed in her and she was known as the Queen of the Southern Seas - a happy ship, according the reminiscenes of those who knew her in this period, crew and passengers.
Documents, photographs, plans, schematics...you'd be hard pressed to think of a ship better served by a collection of material relating to all aspects of its existence. From interior shots to the ephemera to the people who sailed in her - all are well represented with the images reproduced.
Clare largely allows the primary source material to speak for itself, but she has arranged it in such a way as to make the story entirely coherant and comprehensible. Her linking narrative, when she has used it, is clear, lucid and is itself engaging.
I have no hesitation in suggesting that this is one of the most powerful and comprehensive of books ever written about a White Star Line ship and the stories connected with it - and I'm including the popular culture giant
Titanic in that assessment.