Lost but not forgotten – The Durban commemoration will be a whole day event
Lost but not forgotten – The Durban commemoration will be a whole day event
On 23 November 1942, the S.S. Tilawa en route from Bombay India, to Durban South Africa, was tragically sunk by two torpedoes fired from a Japanese Imperial Army submarine during World War II. The bombing took place at about midnight, just north of the Seychelles Islands. This war-time tragedy led to the death of 280 passengers and crew, and left many survivors of the bombing severely traumatised.
The 3rd commemoration of the ill-fated SS Tilawa will be held on the 82nd anniversary of its sinking, on Saturday November 23 2024 at the Regent Business School in Durban. For the first time on African soil, a full auditorium will officially acknowledge this tragedy and memorialise the loss of 280 lives. Many families connected to the forgotten tragedy will meet in the area of the port of Durban. It is here that the ill-fated S.S. Tilawa was destined for.
The drama surrounding this catastrophe was resuscitated in 2017 when 2 364 bars of silver valued at $42 million, amounting to some 60 tonnes of silver, was salvaged from the wreckage at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. This led to a series of British court cases between the salvors and the South African government (formerly the Union of South Africa). In a dramatic twist of events, and some 82 years after the disaster, the UK Supreme Court, in May of this year, delivered a judgement with regard to the silver, in favour of the Republic of South Africa.
The S.S. Tilawa Foundation in collaboration with Tilawa 1942 warmly welcomes all family members connected in any way to the Tilawa tragedy to the 82nd Anniversary Commemoration. A whole day event is planned for 23 November 2024 beginning with a Durban harbour cruise, a visit to the Maritime Museum, and various interviews and speeches and audio-visual exciting presentations by local and international guests.
We are honoured to be in position 82 years later to present actual live recorded interviews from survivors of this November 1942 World War II event. The three known survivors are Arvindbhai Jani from South London, Abdul Gaffaar Osman from Leicester, UK and Tejparkash Mangat from Cincinnati, US. We hope to be graced with the presence of Osman who is, by the grace of God, 90 years old this year. We are also very excited to be hosting the daughter of Arvindbhai at the event. Unfortunately, Arvindbhai can only join us by way of video communication due to ill health.
The commemoration event will be wrapped up with a gala dinner at the NMJ Hall and an evening of socialising thereafter.
Please visit our website www.sstilawa.com for further information. Should you know of any more survivors of this tragedy, please send us a text message or email or feel free to call us on +27 82 778 8660.