Chapter Two – Fact vs. Fiction
Fiction: I have Megan on board the SS Ceramic and for all intents and purposes she’s headed for London to meet her Uncle George. However the SS Ceramic was actually headed toward Australia, not England. Which, of course, is a bit of a problem. But because I wanted to highlight the tragedy of the Ceramic I went ahead and kept it.
Fact: The SS Ceramic had just gone past the Azores when it was hit. Here’s another little site about this event in history — It even has a big picture for you.
Fiction: Here in Chapter Two I have Megan picked up by the Germans. Let’s go ahead and admit that this was unlikely to happen. Granted, Henke of the U-515 did pick up Mr. Munday, but that wasn’t a normal scenario. (Note that in Chapter One Denton does mention to Megan that prisoners were not often taken on board a ship.) But as this is a fiction book, I went ahead with this section in the hopes that readers could suspend their disbelief long enough to get Megan into Germany.
Author’s Note: Because of how controversial the whole sinking scenario felt to me as the writer, I do have a draft of this novel where Megan is shown already in Germany when the war starts. I have her in a big rush for the border but by the time she gets there everything has closed down. However, I like this opening better and since I’m giving it away for free it I decided to keep it.
Fact: The fate of Sapper Eric Munday! After being rescued from the sea by the enemy, Sapper Munday was interrogated and then taken as a Prisoner of War, where he remained until the end of the war. There are some books out there about him (which I admit I have not read but fully intend to.)
Fiction: The timeline of the sinking is off. Apparently Ceramic sustained its first hit somewhere around 8 PM but didn’t actually sink until the final torpedo’s struck it around midnight. Also, here in the second chapter I have the storm abating in the morning when in fact it was around 8 AM when the really big winds started up and the stranded passengers started capsizing.
AJMaguire 