Circumstances Leading to Death (Normally from War Diary)           

HMT Transylvania was taken over for service as a troop transport on completion and the Admiralty fixed her capacity at 200 officers and 2,860 men plus her crew.

On 3 May 1917 she left Marseilles for Alexandria with an escort of two Japanese destroyers, the Matsu and the Sakaki. At 10 am on the 4th the Transylvania was struck in the port engine room by a torpedo from a German submarine the U-63 whilst on a zig-zag course at a speed of 14 knots. At the time she was South of Cape Vado in the Gulf of Genoa. Transylvania at once headed for the land only two miles distant.

The Matsu came alongside to take off the troops, whilst the Sakaki manouvered to keep the submarine submerged. Twenty minutes later a second torpedo was seen coming straight for the destroyer alongside, which saved herself by going astern at full speed. The torpedo then struck the Transylvania and she sank very quickly, less than an hour having elapsed since she was first hit.

A survivor of the Transylvania Walter Williams tells the story of the sinking in this Imperial War Museum interview (click below to listen)