What Was Known, and When
Contemporary Accounts
The Jewish Chronicle (London) reported the sinking of the Erinpura in its issue of May 18, 1945, specifically stating that, “A story of events which brought tragedy and bereavement to many parts of the Yishuv when it happened has now been permitted to be published (writes our Jerusalem correspondent).”
The Jewish Chronicle, May 18, 1945
Curiously, in spite of this alleged censorship, the ship’s sinking was first described in an article on the 4th (“back”) page of the Hebrew-language newspaper Davar, in its issue of August 11, 1943. (This was found via the database of the National Library of Israel.) Entitled, “How 138 of Our Boys Perished in the Mediterranean – As They Were Under Fire…” the two-paragraph article gives nominal information about the incident, mentioning that the survivors spent three hours in the water until being rescued by a mine-sweeper, without further details. The article appears below.
The loss of the soldiers was described in greater detail in a release issued by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on September 10, 1943, under the heading “Palestine Jewish Transport Unit Lost in Mediterranean Naval Battle”. This JTA release was itself based on a report given to the press in Jerusalem on September 9, by Dr. Bernard Joseph, legal adviser of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, with mention that the story was “briefly announced at an earlier date”. (Could that “earlier date” refer to the brief item published in Davar?) Curiously, a variation of the JTA release actually appeared a week before: in the September 3, 1943 issue of the South African Jewish Times.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, September 10, 1943
South African Jewish Times, September 3, 1943
Through the entirety of the Second World War only one article about the sinking seems to have been carried in the American Jewish Press. This appeared in the September 24 issue of The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, and, being based on the JTA release, was very similar – if not identical – to the story as carried in the South African Jewish Times.
Otherwise – whether in 1943, or, through the late 1940s and almost certainly beyond – the story seems never to have been reported in the American Jewish news media, at least within the American Jewish Outlook (Pittsburgh), the Chicago Jewish Chronicle, The American Hebrew, The Detroit Jewish Chronicle, The Jewish Criterion (Pittsburgh), The Jewish Exponent (Philadelphia), The Jewish Floridian (Miami), The Jewish News (Detroit), and The Jewish Times (Baltimore).
Given the “availability” of the story, the reasons for its absence in the American Jewish press are a matter of conjecture.
Curiously; similarly, by searching the website of the National Library of Israel, I have so far been unable to find this story in wartime issues of The Palestine Post.
The event is mentioned in two letters within Moshe Mosenson’s 1945 book Soldiers From the Desert, which present the initials (but not the names) of six of the 462nd’s casualties. In his letter of May 30, 1943, Mosenson seems to imply that the loss of his comrades was soon reported in the military newspaper “Hahayal Haivri” (“The Jewish Soldier”). However, this publication does not yet seem to have been digitized.
Postwar Accounts
There are at least six books (three in English (including the aforementioned book by Mosenson), and three in Hebrew) mentioning or describing the sinking of the Erinpura as it relates to the 462nd General Transport Company. Naturally, all vary in depth and detail.
In postwar books, the story is presented in Volume 2 of Yoav Gelber’s Jewish-Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army During the Second World War. Volume 4 of Jewish-Palestinian Volunteering carries an alphabetical list of Jewish soldiers from the Yishuv who died during the Second World War, which of course includes the names of the casualties of the 462nd. As mentioned above, Henry Morris’ two books both describe the loss of the Erinpura, and, paralleling Volume 4 of Jewish-Palestinian Volunteering, carry the names of all casualties from the Yishuv. The loss of the soldiers of the 462nd is also described, within the larger context of the design and construction of the Erinpura Memorial at Mount Herzl Cemetery, in the 2012 University of Haifa Publication In Death They Commanded -The Architecture of Military Cemeteries in Israel, the Early Years, by Azaryahu Maoz.
Searching the National Library of Israel database using the term “462” yielded a notice mentioning the 462nd General Transport Company. This item, appearing in the March 11, 1973, issue of Davar, follows.
As of this writing, there are numerous websites in English and Hebrew describing or mentioning the history and sinking of the Erinpura, and, the loss the 462nd General Transport Company soldiers, as well as the many Bausto soldiers aboard the ship. The most outstanding account is given by Norman Clothier, in The Erinpura: Basotho Tragedy, at the Military History Journal of the South African Military History Society. Being centrally focused on the Basotho soldiers, there is a single reference alluding to the members of the 462nd; namely, “Of the other 300 troops I have only been able to surmise that most of them may have been from a Palestinian labour unit.” Roi Mandel’s article, “The Erinpura: Fought and Died Against the Germans. Returning to the Disaster,” published at YNet on April 19, 2012, is a moving account of the events of May 1, 1943, and, the soldiers of the 462nd.
Identifying the Men
Using the CWGC database – based on names listed in Henry Morris’ two books, and, the two books by Dr. Gelber – I have been able to identify records of the names of soldiers and sailors lost in the sinking of the Erinpura, in some cases with genealogical information. These lists will appear in future posts, and will conform to the following format:
Soldier’s or Sailor’s name (surname, first name) Grade / Rank / Function Serial Number Year of Birth
Name(s) of next of kin, and, Names and Place(s) of Residence of Next of Kin
Place Where Soldier or Sailor’s Name is Commemorated, or, Place of Burial
For members of the 462nd General Transport Company, the following references are also given.
WWRT – We Will Remember Them (with volume and page numbers)
CWGC – Commonwealth War Graves Commission
THH (YG) – Page number in Volume 4 of Yoav Gelber’s Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army During the Second World War.
Plus, any additional publications, or web references.
For the Basuto soldiers (with the exception of one individual) CWGC records are limited to the soldier’s surname, given name, rank, and serial number. This is almost certainly attributable to the nature of the records or information then available to the CWGC, which was probably based on information recorded in the soldier’s Attestation Papers.
Information about the CWGC’s records can be found at the organization’s About Our Records web page.