Booklet Issued by the 462nd Hebrew Transport Company, Marking the Anniversary of the Sinking of SS Erinpura – May, 1944

A typewritten and mimeographed booklet marking the anniversary of the sinking of SS Erinpura which carried hundreds of soldiers of the 462nd Transport Company of the British Army. Published by the 462nd Transport Company, May 1, 1944.
A booklet commemorating the soldiers of the 462nd Transport Company, volunteers of the Jewish Yishuv in the British Army, who perished with the sinking of the SS Erinpura on their way to Malta, before the invasion of the Allies to Sicily. The booklet was printed by the surviving members of the company to mark the anniversary of the sinking of the ship. It contains a list of the members of the company who perished at sea, alongside testimony by one of the survivors, a short tribute by company commander Major Harry Yoffe, and additional texts.
Enclosed are three leaves of the newspaper "A Missive to the Male and Female Soldiers" issued by the executive committee of the Histadrut Labor Federation (June 1943 / May 1944), which contain articles about the 462nd Transport Company and the sinking disaster. One of the articles covers a memorial service the company held on the anniversary of the sinking of the Erinpura, noting that "the company published a special booklet in their memory that was distributed among the participants" (presumably, referring to the booklet before us).
On April 29, 1943, the SS Erinpura sailed from the port of Alexandria towards the island of Malta as part of a maritime convoy of 27 ships carrying equipment and supplies for the British army and 11 warships – a convoy that was supposed to take part in the invasion of Sicily. On board of the Erinpura were more than 300 officers and soldiers of the 462nd Transport Company, two companies of soldiers from South Africa, crewmen from India and several dozens of British people. On Saturday, May 1, 1943, two days after departure, the convoy was bombed by 12 German bombers. One of the bombs hit the Erinpura directly, leading to its sinking within minutes. Approx. 140 soldiers of the 462nd Transport Company drowned or were hit by machine gun fire. The survivors were brought back to Tripoli and Benghazi and then sent on leave to Palestine.
Booklet: 13 leaves, in a transparent nylon cover (new), 16.5X22 cm. Good condition. Stains. Worming. Tears and open tears along the edges of the leaves, most of them restored. Enclosed leaves: 25 cm. Numerous stains. Small tears, holes and filing holes.
The booklet is not in NLI.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.