This is an old post but maybe you can get in touch with this daughter of a survivor ! you also might try the list of survivors on the Hospital Ship Vita ......
http://www.DiveSriLanka.com/These guys have been diving the wreck ... some fascinating photos if you haven't seen them !
Accounts of DiveSrilanka.com Expeditions
Expedition IV - August 22-24 2008 - Celebration of life! Marine Life at the Hermes
Expedition III - June 19-21 2008 - The best ever wreck pictures taken so far
Expedition I & II - May & September 2005 - wreck pictures & marine life pictures
HMS HERMES (April 9, 1942)
The 10,850 ton aircraft carrier (Capt. R. Onslow) was the first Royal Navy ship to be specially designed as such. This was the ninth ship to bear this name. The Hermes left the naval base of Trincomalee, Ceylon, escorted by the Australian destroyer Vampire, and while sailing south off Batticaloa on the east shore, the ships were attacked by carrier-borne aircraft from a Japanese force of three battleships and five carriers including the Akaga, Hiryu and Soryu, which had entered the Bay of Bengal a week before and were now attacking the naval base. Around seventy bombers were sent to dispatch the Hermes which sank within ten minutes, followed by the Vampire shortly after. Of the complement on the Hermes, nineteen officers and 283 ratings died. On the Vampire, nine men lost their lives. The hospital ship Vita rescued approximately 600 survivors from the two ships and took them to Colombo and later to Kandy for recuperation. The air attack on the base killed 85 civilians in addition to military losses. Thirty-six Japanese planes were shot down. The wreck of the Hermes was found sixty-three years later, in 2006, about five nautical miles from shore and fifty-seven meters down. Divers attached the White Ensign to the rusting hull.
Annie
Edit ... found this ... maybe you can send a message here !
http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=160