Thanks FN for the link to the Wiki narration. It was wartime so I suppose the government would have automatically censored such things but it's not that anyone in Bombay would not have known about it. What they would have achieved by suppressing the incident would be how powerful the blast was, how many people were killed and what supplies were destroyed. Perhaps German or Japanese intelligence would have been interested to know how the blast would affect Britain's naval capacity in Bombay.
Years later while in St Xaviers school, once or twice weekly in the large Drawing Class premises on the upper floors (what a large room with a magnificent view that class had), I would be fascinated by a tall window with broken glass. This broken window which could be opened and shut had another window outside of it to protect against the elements. It was an odd sight until I learnt that it was maintained as the school's sole reminder of the 1944 SS Stikine blast at Bombay harbour that shattered many of the schools other windows. The school was no more than about 5 miles from the blast. Any Bombay resident who lived through the blast has a vivid tale to tell. 800 people dying may be a grim statistic but the story that comes along with it brings that figure to life. Roland. Sent from Samsung Mobile
